THE impasse between Government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) has taken a new turn. AJK government has officially banned the JAAC under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2014. According to the government notification, the group was declared a proscribed organization because it has been acting against state peace, spreading hatred and trying to create deep anarchy and public insecurity. This ban comes after the JAAC persistently refused to engage in institutional dialogue and called for a massive wheel-jam strike on June 9. This strike date directly threatens the region’s democratic path. The AJK Election Commission has scheduled general elections for July 27 and June 9 is the exact day candidates are supposed to start filing their nomination papers till June 19. By attempting to shut down the state on this day, the JAAC is actively blocking voters and candidates from participating in the democratic process.
What makes this situation far more dangerous is how India and its mainstream media are exploiting the crisis. Indian media outlets have launched a massive propaganda campaign, highlighting the JAAC’s protests to portray Azad Kashmir as an unstable and failing region. By giving extensive coverage and twisted narratives to the group’s actions, New Delhi is using the JAAC and its stubbornness as a weapon to damage Pakistan’s stance on the global stage. AJK is a highly sensitive border territory and any forced chaos on the streets gives Indian narrative machinery exactly what it wants to hurt the Kashmir cause.
Interestingly, the JAAC has continued its agitation even though the government has already accepted 35 out of its 38 original public demands. The state has shown immense flexibility by withdrawing 177 FIRs, paying 70 million PKR in compensation to families of deceased protesters and giving 48 million PKR to injured citizens. Major relief was also provided through reduced electricity tariffs, waived surcharges and a smaller cabinet size to cut government waste.
Multiple multi-billion developmental projects for clean water, roads and health infrastructure are also moving forward. Yet, the JAAC remains unyielding on demands that are financially impossible. Their call for complete tax abolition, including the 75% advance income tax, is a total fiscal illusion. AJK generates only 60 billion PKR locally while its budget exceeds 300 billion PKR, meaning Pakistan covers the remaining 240 billion PKR deficit. Eliminating these taxes would create an extra 45 billion PKR hole, making it impossible to pay public salaries or fund schools and hospitals. Furthermore, their demand to end the 12 legislative seats for Jammu and Kashmir refugees hurts the historic cause by politically silencing displaced Kashmiris.
Ultimately, real public welfare is achieved through the ballot box and dialogue, not through endless street pressure sponsored by hostile foreign actors and orchestrated by anti state anarchists to paralyze daily life. By refusing to compromise and shutting down elections, the JAAC is no longer serving the public, but rather facilitating an Indian agenda designed to destabilize the entire region. And there seems no doubt in it!
—The writer is an alumnus of QAU, MPhil scholar and a freelance columnist, based in Islamabad.
