MUZAFFARABAD: At least one person, who participated in a gathering organised by the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), was killed and four others injured in a clash with law enforcement personnel on the outskirts of Rawalakot on Thursday, as Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) observed a complete shutter-down strike for the third consecutive day .
An official told Dawn that thousands of protesters from Mirpur, Bhimber and Kotli districts in Mirpur Division, as well as Sudhnoti and parts of Poonch districts in Poonch Division, had converged on Eidgah Ground on the eastern outskirts of Rawalakot since Wednesday evening.
Smaller groups of protesters had also gathered at two other locations on the southern and northern edges of the town.
According to witnesses, Umar Nazir Kashmiri, a core JAAC member facing sedition charges, delivered a “highly provocative” speech to the gathering at Eidgah Ground. The speech was streamed live on social media despite the suspension of internet services by all major providers across AJK since Friday last week.
Poonch Divisional Commissioner Sardar Waheed Khan said law enforcement personnel were dispatched in the early hours of Thursday after authorities learnt of Kashmiri’s presence at the gathering.
“However, when they were removing obstacles from the road, a group of protesters confronted them. In the ensuing exchange of fire, one protester was killed and four to five others were injured,” he said.
The deceased activist was identified by fellow protesters as 32-year-old Sohban Arif, a resident of Gorah village in Sudhnoti district.
Six-point petition
During his speech, Kashmiri reportedly stated that negotiations with the government were possible and claimed he had submitted a six-point petition to the authorities to facilitate talks.
A senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Dawn that the demands included the withdrawal of the Home Department notification proscribing JAAC, the return of the bodies of all deceased activists and injured persons, and the registration of FIRs regarding the killing of civilians.
The petition also demanded the withdrawal of paramilitary troops from urban areas and the lifting of the curfew before negotiations could begin.
According to the official, Kashmiri also proposed that neither law enforcement personnel nor protesters should move beyond their current positions until these demands were addressed.
However, sources said the authorities were unwilling to make concessions similar to those granted on two previous occasions. Some claimed JAAC had been given a clear message that it must first surrender to the state before expecting any relief.
On Thursday, the AJK Law Department withdrew four notifications, one issued in December 2024 and three in December 2025, under which cases linked to protests and agitation by the now-proscribed JAAC had been recalled from various criminal courts across the region.
The notification stated that the decision had been taken during the 41st meeting of the AJK cabinet on June 5.
Sources said the state had made it clear that while relief measures granted to the general public would remain intact, concessions previously extended to what it termed “troublemakers” would be withdrawn.
Earlier reports from Rawalakot suggested that JAAC protesters might attempt to enter the town, raising fears of a violent confrontation. However, it later emerged that the organisation’s leadership had decided to continue sit-ins at their existing locations.
“These peaceful sit-ins will continue until our detained activists are released, the bodies of activists are returned, and the notifications proscribing the Action Committee and announcing rewards for information leading to the arrest of four core members are withdrawn,” Imtiaz Aslam, a JAAC core member from Kotli, told the gathering at Eidgah Ground.
JAAC alleges that the bodies of several activists killed by law enforcement agencies (LEAs) have not been handed over to their families.
As drones were seen flying over Rawalakot and LEAs conducted flag marches across the area, official sources did not rule out the possibility of decisive action against the protesters later in the night.
Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2026
