The Bar Association guarantees legal assistance to people involved in acts of violence if they surrender to the authorities
The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Saturday warned persons involved in disturbing peace, violence, damaging government property and causing loss of human life to immediately surrender and appear before the law, while ensuring full legal assistance to those who do so.
Tensions have risen in AJK following recent deadly clashes that have led to competing narratives about victims, governance grievances and political legitimacy. Official sources have confirmed at least seven deaths.
Officials said that despite claims of peaceful intentions, certain elements have continued to engage in violent activities. The same elements, they added, have previously been involved in damage to public property and attacks that resulted in martyrdom and injuries to security personnel.
Read: AJK reinstates 177 FIR against JAAC members for breach of October 25 agreement
In a statement issued by AJK SCBA President Raja Aftab Ahmed Advocate, he said those involved in armed attacks and acts undermining public order must surrender without delay.
He said: “People involved in disturbing the peace, launching armed attacks, damaging government property and causing loss of human life must immediately surrender and appear before the law.”
He added that those challenging the State order were not only endangering human lives but were also committing a serious crime equivalent to treason. He urged such persons to surrender to the authorities, adding that the Bar Association would provide them with full legal assistance in the courts of Azad Kashmir.
Background
The recent riots and deadly clashes in areas, including Rawalakot, where the recently banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) had been staging a sit-in in front of the Combined Military Hospital, Rawalakot. AJK Police allege that armed JAAC members opened fire on law enforcement forces deployed in a planned attack, leaving four personnel dead and around 20 injured. JAAC, however, disputes this version, stating that security forces used tear gas and fired projectiles towards the hospital.
According to the AJK police, three people linked to the JAAC and four law enforcement officials were killed during the protests on Sunday. JAAC, however, said in a statement on
Sunday’s clash came as the AJK government and JAAC witnessed a clash as the AJK election date was announced for July 27.
Read more: Certain elements seek to create instability in AJK despite repeated offers of dialogue: Rana Sanaullah
AJK’s 53-member legislative assembly includes 12 seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees, people who fled Indian-controlled Kashmir in 1947 and 1965 and are now scattered across Pakistan. Six seats represent refugees from the Jammu division (~434,000 people) and six from the Kashmir Valley (~30,000 people), an already imbalanced arrangement that many consider unfair.
The region witnessed one of its most turbulent periods in October last year, when protests led by the JAAC broke out over demands for constitutional and governance reforms. At least nine people, including three police officers, died during the riots.
The JAAC, which organized the protests and strike, had put forward a wide-ranging charter of demands, including an end to the privileges enjoyed by the ruling elite, the abolition of 12 assembly seats reserved for refugees, and the elimination of the quota system.
Two days after the violence, the government and the JAAC reached an agreement covering 12 basic and 13 additional points. Under the agreement, both sides agreed to constitute a high-level committee to examine the issue of refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly.
Read more: Four police officers martyred, more than 20 injured in Rawalakot shooting: AJK police
The unrest also sparked political unrest in the region. The PPP subsequently moved a no-confidence resolution against then Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz joined the effort. Haq, who had been elected in April 2023 with 48 votes, preferred to face the vote rather than resign.
On 17 November, Rathore secured 36 votes in the elections and became the 16th chief minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
With elections approaching and the issue of refugee seats still unresolved, the AJK government called an All Parties Conference (APC) in Muzaffarabad to build consensus. Almost all major parties attended, except the PTI and JAAC, which boycotted it.
The JAAC’s position is that the government had already rejected its written proposals submitted on May 30, so attending would be futile. He had proposed maintaining symbolic representation of refugees until the Kashmir dispute is permanently resolved, or replacing the 12 assembly seats with 4 seats in the AJK Council, a body chaired by the Prime Minister, which he claimed would better preserve the political dimension of the Kashmir cause.
The APC rejected any changes outside the constitutional and legislative framework, saying only the elected assembly could alter the seating arrangement for refugees. The JAAC called the resolution “a page and a half of absolutely trivial lines” and accused participants of coming together to serve their own interests and not those of the public.
