MUZAFFARABAD: Author­ities in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s (AJK) Poonch division have compiled a list of around 100 serving and retired government employees for allegedly participating in or facilitating sit-ins organised by the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), and forwarded it to the relevant authorities for possible disciplinary action.

Confirming the development, Poonch Divisional Commissioner Sardar Waheed Khan told Dawn on Sunday that more names could be added as the process was still underway.

“This is no longer a rights movement. They are not only challenging the authority of the state but are also committing treason through their inflammatory speeches and actions,” he said, referring to a recent speech by JAAC core member Khawaja Mehran Arshad at Rawalakot’s Eidgah Ground, during which he allegedly sought to incite Kashmiri-origin army personnel.

Arshad is already facing a sedition case under Section 124-A of the penal code.

JAAC suffers setback as two core members distance themselves from group

“We do not blame ordinary participants. But they must realise that their presence is being exploited by people pursuing a particular agenda under the cover of so-called rights,” Khan said.

He said the process of attaching and sealing properties belonging to activists placed on the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act had also begun.

According to him, 15 shops and other properties linked to JAAC activists and supporters were sealed in Rawalakot on Sunday under a magistrate’s supervision. These included businesses owned by Umar Nazir Kashmiri and a tour and travel agency. Another 10 properties were sealed elsewhere in the division.

The commissioner said he had conveyed a message to JAAC leaders to nominate a four-member committee, excluding the four activists for whose arrest rewards have been announced, for negotiations following the unconditional dispersal of sit-ins.

“All issues can be discussed, but only after the sit-ins are called off to create space for dialogue,” he said.

Khan regretted that when some individuals and organisations had attempted to persuade JAAC leaders to end the standoff, they had responded by placing a series of conditions to the authorities.

Setback for JAAC

Meanwhile, the proscribed JAAC appeared to suffer a setback when Raja Amjad Ali Khan, one of its core members from Muzaffarabad and regarded as its legal brain, publicly distanced himself from the alliance.

In a video message circulated on social media on Sunday, he claimed that the movement had deviated from its original objectives. “The direction of our peaceful movement was diverted and used to damage the relationship between Pakistan and Kashmir. Young people were sent to prisons while others struck deals behind the scenes,” he said.

An almost identical message later appeared on social media from Anjum Zaman Awan, another JAAC core member from Muzaffarabad. Both of them have been placed on the Fourth Schedule.

Meanwhile, some businesses reopened after nearly two weeks of closure though life remained disrupted across Muzaffarabad and Poonch divisions.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2026