Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Police have arrested two men supplying modern weapons to suspects of banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) Khawaja Mehran and Sardar Aman.
According to Mirpur Police, the suspects, identified as Naeem and Aqib, were detained during a routine checkpoint operation while travelling on motorcycles. Police said the two men had returned to Dadyal from protest sit-in in Rawalakot and were heading back when they were stopped.
During initial investigations, the suspects told police they were acting on the instructions of Khawaja Mehran, Sardar Aman and Nazim Kashmiri. Police stated that the men were transporting weapons from Dadyal to Rawalakot.
Police said they recovered two Kalashnikov rifles, three pistols and a large quantity of ammunition from the suspects’ possession. The detained individuals admitted to participating in activities associated with the banned JAAC and said the weapons were being moved to Rawalakot.
Police and security sources further revealed that the suspects made disclosures regarding the internal situation at the protest camp, tensions within the sit-in and saying that some individuals were being prevented from leaving.
On the other hand, the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) sit-in at Rawalakot’s Drek Eidgah failed to attract public support, with the large number of empty chairs at the venue reflecting what many see as a clear rejection of the group by the majority of the population, according to a report.
The JAAC had called people to Rawalakot under the banner of fundamental rights and sought to create the impression that it could exert pressure on state institutions through a mass gathering, disrupt the system, and establish a front against the state. However, these efforts appear to have fallen short of expectations.
As the group’s agenda and narrative became more widely known, including allegations of anti-state and anti-Pakistan rhetoric, public support reportedly declined. Observers point to the sparsely attended sit-in as evidence that the group no longer enjoys significant public backing or a broadly accepted narrative.
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