The government has claimed that an intelligence-based operation has uncovered an alleged arms-smuggling network supplying weapons from Afghanistan to members linked to the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
According to officials, the operation traced an alleged network operating from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province and moving weapons through Tirah and Bara in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa before reaching AJK.
The government said the investigation centred on a man identified as Zia, who was allegedly involved in the arms trade and had been supplying weapons to people linked to JAAC for around two years.
Officials claimed Zia had contacts with individuals associated with senior JAAC figures, including Sardar Aman. Recent reporting on the government’s press conference also identified Majid as an alleged close associate of Sardar Aman and said investigators had recovered communications between members of the network.
The government said investigators traced the alleged network through phone records, intercepted communications and information obtained during the investigation. Authorities also played audio recordings during the press conference that they said showed discussions about the procurement and transportation of weapons.
Officials further alleged that a person based in Afghanistan, identified as Zarshad, was involved in supplying weapons and that the arms were transported through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with the help of local facilitators.
The government has described the alleged network as part of a wider cross-border arms-trafficking and security threat. However, the allegations contained in the recordings and other material presented at the press conference have not been independently verified.
The claims come amid heightened tensions surrounding the JAAC, which was declared a proscribed organisation by the AJK government earlier this year.
Independent research has also documented long-standing arms-smuggling routes between Afghanistan and Pakistan, including routes through Nangarhar and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, although this does not independently establish a connection to the specific network alleged by Pakistani authorities.
