AJK braces for long march as tensions persist
โข โProscribedโ JAAC to go ahead with rally from Bhimber to Muzaffarabad, sit-in outside assembly โข Officials say govt โwill not allowโ march to go ahead; large crowds unlikely since groupโs leadership is โon the runโ MUZAFFARABAD: In the aftermath of Sunday nightโs fierce clashes that claimed the lives of seven civilians and four law enforcement personnel in Rawalakot, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) braced for a shutter-down and wheel-jam strike on Tuesday (today) , announced by the proscribed Joint Awami Action Comยญmittee (JAAC). According to initial plans, the JAAC had decided that protesters would start a long march from the southernmost district of Bhimber, passing through Mirpur, Kotli and Poonch before reaching Muzaffarabad on June 10 for a sit-in outside the Legislative Assembly. Government officials, meanwhile, appeared hopeful about the prospects of a tepid response to the protest call for several reasons, including the recent crackdown. In action against JAAC, the authorities had rounded up more than 200 people across the region and forced others into hiding, official sources and witnesses said. โSituation is fluid. The JAAC leadership and crowd-pullers are on the run. So far, they havenโt been able to pull numbers on the streets, but there is a possibility of small protests at several places,โ said one official. โBut it has been firmly decided that protesters will not be allowed to assemble anywhere, let alone stage a long march from one part of the state to the other,โ another official said. Some analysts were of the view that while shutters might remain closed and transport stay off the roads, the call for Tuesdayโs strike was less likely to receive an overwhelming response due to the alleged stubbornness of the JAAC leadership. โIt was a good movement for rights in the beginning, but some of the committeeโs obdurate and myopic leaders pushed it into a blind alley, for reasons best known to them,โ remarked a retired government servant, requesting he should not be named. โAbolition of 12 seats might be close to the majorityโs hearts in AJK, but it should not have been made a matter of life and death,โ he added. The officials who spoke to Dawn made it clear that the administration would neither force anyone to keep their shops open nor allow anyone to force others to shut down their businesses. โAs long as people remain peaceful, the law will tolerate them. But the moment they try to create any problem, they will be dealt with firmly,โ one of them said. Rawalakot violence On Monday, life remained normal in almost all parts of AJK, except Rawalakot, where shutters remained down for the second consecutive day and public transport stayed off the roads. Elsewhere, a partial strike was reported just from Dadyal, a lakeside town in Mirpur district. In Rawalakot, the epicentre of the violence, the administration and law enforcement agencies (LEAs) succeeded in dispersing protesters shortly after midnight on Sunday. According to divisional commissioner Sardar Waheed Khan, the protesters had not only blocked access to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) but had also virtually taken over the facility, forcing doctors and paramedics to flee for their safety. He regretted that those present inside the hospital not only obstructed treatment for LEA personnel but also caused further injuries to some of them, apart from allegedly disrespecting the body of a martyred police constable. Sharing details of the clashes, he alleged that the protesters possessed long-range firearms, petrol bombs and other ammunition. โThey attacked law enforcers from side alleys with full planning, on the pattern of a guerrilla war,โ he said. He said of the 30 or so hospitalised activists, three critically injured were airlifted to Islamabad along with four LEA personnel by helicopter. Six activists remained under treatment in the hospital as detainees while others were shifted to the police station, he added. Funeral prayers Meanwhile, funeral prayers for the three AJK policemen โ identified as SHO Hajira Muhammad Inayat and constables Muhammad Faisal and Faheem Anwar โ were offered at 5pm at Rawalakot Police Lines with full honours. Among those in attendance were Chief Secretary Khushal Khan, IGP Liaqat Ali Malik and General Officer Commanding Murree Maj Gen Zarrar Mahmood. The seven deceased civilians were identified as Usman Sabir of Koiyan village, Fahad Barkat of Rehara village, ex-serviceman Wasaid Siddique of Parrat village, Naqash Zardad of Matyalmera Danna village, Jamshed Ashraf of Hussainkot village, Muhammad Rasheed of Choti Nakkar Pakhar village, and Tariq Resham of Dothan village. The ex-serviceman was caught in crossfire, the commissioner claimed. Sources disclosed that the funeral and burial rites of three activists, including Shazeb Habib, whose body had been lying in the CMH mortuary since Saturday, were performed by the administration and police, while those of the others were carried out by their families without any agitation. In a statement posted on Facebook, a spokesperson for IGP Malik said that legal action against members of the proscribed committee allegedly involved in armed violence was continuing. He warned that strict legal action would be taken against those involved in attacks on LEA personnel and government property. Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2026