Banned JAAC group accused of trying to sabotage Pakistan's AJK polls: Officials

Officials in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) accused an outlawed political group of attempting to sabotage elections for the region's constitutional assembly, while also alleging that militants from the Pakistani Taliban infiltrated weekslong protests. The accusations came a day after clashes with security forces killed one paramilitary officer and wounded several others.

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Police spokesperson Senior Superintendent of Police Khawar Ali Shaukat on Wednesday said the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) was operating under an "agenda" aimed at destabilising the region, accusing protesters of firing automatic weapons at security personnel from fortified positions inside buildings.

"This shows that the banned JAAC is working here according to an agenda, the purpose of which is to destroy peace in AJK, disrupt Kashmir's social fabric, and, at the same time, undermine the atmosphere of brotherhood and peace," said Shaukat during a press conference in Rawalakot.

Islami Jamiat Talaba activists protest in Islamabad on Wednesday after unrest during the first phase of voting for the local legislature in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. AFP

The violence erupted when armed, masked protesters at a sit-in opened fire on police and security personnel deployed to secure polling, the regional government and police said. There were unconfirmed reports that several protesters were killed or wounded, but officials did not immediately confirm any civilian casualties.

At a news conference in Muzaffarabad, the capital AJK, government spokesman Mohammad Rashid Hanif alleged that the outlawed JAAC sought to derail the elections. He said a "significant number" of Fitna Al Khawarij, the term Islamabad uses for members of the Pakistani Taliban, were also among the protesters.

Later on Tuesday at a news conference in Islamabad, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Deputy Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry said the ongoing sit-in was no longer a peaceful protest, alleging that armed militants had joined the demonstrators and posed a threat to public order. They said authorities would soon take action to restore order and ensure conditions for a free, fair and peaceful vote.

Hanif showed what he said was video footage of masked gunmen firing from the roof of a building.

Sitting alongside Hanif, regional deputy Police Chief Irfan Masood Kashfi said armed men involved in the unrest were carrying weapons including Kalashnikov assault rifles and that authorities had received intelligence that snipers were also being used. Officials also played video recordings of two detained men who appeared to confess to taking part in the violence. One said he had been paid and instructed to attack troops and police, while the other claimed to belong to an armed faction linked to the JAAC and described firing on security forces with an M-16 rifle. The group did not immediately respond to the latest allegations.

PPP's Bilawal calls PML-N 'product of rigging'

In a separate development, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto continued his tirade against the Pakistan Mulsim League-Nawaz (PML-N) — an ally of his party in the Centre — on Wednesday, reiterating his allegations in the first phase of Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections and demanding re-polling.

Bilawal said the PPP was pitted against the party (PML-N), which was the product of rigging right from the word go. He said that the PPP was not willing to accept the results of 30 constituencies.

Addressing a PPP workers’ convention in Muzaffarabad, he called on the Election Commission to hold re-polling in Mirpur if “you are not involved in this rigging.”

Directly taking a jibe at Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Marym Nawaz, he said: “If someone is sitting on the PM’s seat, or someone is sitting on the CM’s position today, even a child knows that it is not because of the people’s votes or your performance but because of Form-47.”

Bilawal’s allegations were in continuation of his party’s accusations from the day before, when the PPP and the PML-N traded barbs over election results, with Maryam saying in a televised address that it was “not the state that decides election results, but the people.” She also urged the PPP to accept defeat.

Shortly before Bilawal’s speech on Wednesday, she, too, took a jibe at the PPP on X, saying: “The PPP, which is the master of the fine art of rigging, is crying foul. When’s the doomsday?”

Responding to her on X, PPP’s Sharjeel Memon said, “This is not you speaking but Form-47. Doomsday came in 2024, when mandates were being distributed in charity.”