AJK reinstates 177 FIRs against JAAC members over breach of Oct ’25 agreement

ISLAMABAD:

The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government on Thursday withdrew earlier concessions related to protest and agitation cases and reinstated 177 First Information Reports (FIRs) against members of the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), citing violation of the October 4, 2025 agreement between the two sides.

The move comes amid escalating tensions in AJK following recent deadly clashes that have generated competing narratives over casualties, governance grievances, and political legitimacy. Official sources have confirmed at least seven deaths.

Last week, the AJK government banned the JAAC, accusing the organisation of involvement in terrorism, promoting hatred, and creating anarchy in the state.

The ban followed the JAAC’s call for a protest on June 9. The organisation has previously led large-scale demonstrations demanding economic relief and political rights, with some protests ending in violence and fatalities during clashes with law enforcement in May 2024 and September 2025.

According to official statements, the government concluded that the JAAC had breached the October 2025 agreement by returning to street agitation rather than pursuing dispute resolution through the implementation committee established under the accord.

As a result, all protest-related cases that had previously been withdrawn under the agreement have now been restored.

A notification issued by the Law, Justice, Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights Department in Muzaffarabad confirmed the decision.

“Pursuant to the decision of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet, taken during its 41st meeting held on June 5, 2026, the President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir has been pleased to accord approval to withdraw the following notifications regarding cases relating to protest and agitation of the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee before various competent criminal courts in Azad Jammu and Kashmir,” the notification stated.

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The order revoked several earlier notifications issued between December 2024 and December 2025, including those dated December 7, 2024, December 15, 2025, December 26, 2025, and December 31, 2025.

It also directed relevant departments, including the police, judiciary, and administrative authorities, to implement the decision and proceed with further legal action. Officials said the move effectively reverses relief previously granted to individuals facing protest-related charges, maintaining that the agreement had been violated.

FIR’s

The reinstated FIRs relate to protests held across AJK in September and October 2025, when the JAAC launched a campaign demanding governance and constitutional reforms.

The demonstrations escalated into violent confrontations with security forces, resulting in the deaths of at least nine people, including three police officers.

Among the JAAC’s key demands were the abolition of privileges for the political elite, the removal of 12 refugee-reserved seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly, and reforms to the quota system.

Following the unrest, the government and the JAAC reached an agreement in October 2025 on a broader reform framework. The accord included the formation of a high-level committee to review contentious issues, including refugee representation.

Subsequently, the government withdrew cases registered against protesters involved in the long march and related demonstrations. Officials said 177 FIRs were dropped through notifications issued in December 2025.

However, cases linked to deaths during the unrest were not withdrawn and remain under legal process. A proposal to establish a judicial commission to investigate the violence is also still under consideration.

Background

The recent unrest and deadly clashes in areas, including Rawalakot, where the newly proscribed JAAC had been holding a sit-in outside the Combined Military Hospital Rawalakot. AJK police allege that armed JAAC members opened fire on deployed law enforcement in a planned attack, leaving four personnel dead and around 20 injured. JAAC, however, disputes this account, claiming security forces used tear gas and fired shells toward the hospital.

According to the AJK police, three individuals linked to the JAAC and four law enforcement personnel were killed during the protests on Sunday. JAAC, however, said in a statement on X that seven individuals were killed and dozens were injured when street firing was carried out in the dark after electricity was allegedly cut off.

The clash on Sunday came as the AJK government and the JAAC witnessed a face-off, as the election date for AJK was announced for July 27.

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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 lopsided arrangement that many see as unfair.

The region witnessed one of its most turbulent periods in October last year when protests led by the JAAC erupted over demands for constitutional and governance reforms. At least nine people, including three policemen, were killed during the unrest.

The JAAC, which organised the protests and strike, had presented 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 scrapping of the quota system.

Two days after the violence, the government and the JAAC reached an agreement covering 12 core and 13 additional points. Under the accord, 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 personnel martyred, over 20 injured in Rawalakot firing: AJK police

The unrest also triggered political upheaval in the region. The PPP subsequently moved a no-confidence resolution against then Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz joining the effort. Haq, who had been elected in April 2023 with 48 votes, chose to face the vote rather than resign.

On Nov 17, Rathore secured 36 votes in the election and became the 16th prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

With elections now approaching and the refugee seat issue still unresolved, the AJK government convened an All Parties Conference (APC) in Muzaffarabad to build consensus. Almost every major party attended — except PTI and the JAAC, who 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. It had proposed either keeping symbolic refugee representation 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 it argued 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 refugee seat arrangements. The JAAC called the resolution “a page and a half of utterly trivial lines” and accused participants of gathering to serve their own interests rather than the public’s.