MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): Muzaffarabad Police has registered a sedition case against Khawaja Mehran Arshad, a core member of the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), over remarks allegedly made during a protest rally in Rawalakot.
According to the first information report (FIR), Khawaja Mehran, while addressing participants at the rally, allegedly made statements targeting state institutions.
The FIR, registered at the Civil Secretariat Police Station, Muzaffarabad, stated that during the protest rally in Rawalakot, Khawaja Mehran criticised the Pakistan Army and other state institutions and also incited people to revolt against the state.
His speech went viral on social media, in which he can be heard inciting the Kashmiri soldiers of the Pakistan Army to revolt and asking them to return to Azad Kashmir.
Following a review of the speech and related material, authorities registered a case under Section 124-A of the Azad Panel Code, which includes charges linked to sedition.
The development comes amid an ongoing crackdown against members and activists associated with the banned JAAC, with law enforcement agencies continuing investigations into activities deemed unlawful by the government.
Officials have maintained that action will be taken against any individual found involved in activities that challenge state authority or violate the law.
JAAC members placed on Fourth Schedule
Earlier on Friday, the AJK Home Department placed 154 individuals affiliated with the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) on the Fourth Schedule.
“President, based on recommendations received from the Central Police Office, has approved the placement of the following individuals on the Fourth Schedule, who are activists of the Jammu & Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JK-JAAC),” the notification stated.
With the placement on the Fourth Schedule, they will be subjected to enhanced monitoring and legal restrictions under relevant laws. Passports, bank accounts, identity cards, and other official documentation of these individuals have also been frozen.
The individual includes core members Shaukat Nawaz Mir, Raja Ghulam Mujtaba Banday, Umar Nazir Kashmiri, Anjum Zaman Awan, Imtiaz Aslam, Ghulam Mujtaba, Amman Khan, Khawaja Mehran Arshad, Raja Amjid Ali Khan, Raja Sohaib Javed,
The action comes as part of an ongoing crackdown following the government’s decision to proscribe the Awami Action Committee and intensify measures against those allegedly involved in anti-state activities and those deemed a threat to public order.
