ISLAMABAD (Kashmir Digital): Senior anchor and analyst Mujtaba Butt has said the state will maintain its writ and will not provide any further relief to the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) involved in creating unrest in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
Speaking at a programme in Kashmir Digital, Butt referred to AJK Prime Minister Iftikhar Gilani’s remarks following his visit to Rawalakot, saying the government was determined to maintain law and order.
“The action committee is totally responsible for the recent unrest in Rawalakot. The handful of miscreants have besieged the city for their own agenda and have been using women and children as a shield against security forces,” Butt maintained.
He accused the banned Action Committee of spreading negative propaganda against the state and security forces through fake and old videos and photographs shared on social media.
The journalist further claimed that armed members of the banned Action Committee attacked security forces and police personnel during a road clearance operation near the bus terminal in Rawalakot.
“Some JAAC members, carrying high-powered weapons, including rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers, opened fire on law enforcement personnel as they advanced to remove roadblocks and restore transport facilities.”
Butt said some police officers were injured in the firing, following which security personnel responded with aerial firing to disperse the crowd and facilitate the release of people from the area.
He further added that, following the incident, the action committee launched a social media campaign claiming that several people had been killed during the operation.
He revealed that the proscribed JAAC itself started propaganda against the security forces by killing its members under a plan to gain public sympathy and revive its movement.
Butt also questioned the purpose of continued sit-ins, claiming that the government had already accepted most of the committee’s demands.
JAAC doing politics on dead bodies
He accused the committee of doing politics on dead bodies, alleging that ordinary people are bearing the consequences of the ongoing unrest in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Butt claimed that poor people, labourers and individuals with no direct association with the Action Committee were repeatedly becoming victims of violence.
Referring to JAAC leader Umar Nazeer Kashmiri, he questioned the circumstances in which the individual was injured but survived, while other people reportedly lost their lives.
He further claimed that the government had accepted around 90 per cent of the Action Committee’s public demands, questioning why sit-ins and protests continued despite the government’s response.
Butt accused the committee of using casualties to maintain public sympathy and political pressure.
Referring to the delay in elections in Poonch, Butt blamed the unrest linked to the Action Committee for preventing the electoral process from taking place in the area.
He also questioned the continuation of protests following the provision of subsidies on flour, electricity and other essential items during the previous government.
Butt alleged that continued unrest could serve the interests of hostile elements seeking to destabilise Pakistan and Azad Kashmir.
