POJK Boils Over: Thousands return to streets, defying Pakistan’s crackdown
It was a surprise like no other for the administration of the Pakistan Occupied Jammu Kashmir (POJK) as its victory claims over protesters died a premature death within a matter of hours. Early on the morning of June 13, Poonch Divisional Commissioner Sardar Waheed Khan claimed that due to fear of the security forces, the protesters gathered at three holding areas outside Rawalakot had run away after midnight.
He boasted that this was the result of the tough messages delivered to the leaders of the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) through some intermediaries. Within hours of these claims, Sardar Waheed Khan’s words became an empty boast, and he went incommunicado soon thereafter.
By noon on June 12, barely a couple of hours after these boastful comments, protesters started making a beeline for all the three venues outside Rawalakot town. Women and children, which were earlier not participating in the protests, were the first to appear at these venues. Small trickles soon grew into huge crowds as dozens, then hundreds and then thousands filled the large grounds located on three sides outside Rawalakot which has become a point of contention, and mobilisation.
Activists and supporters of the proscribed JAAC, who had dispersed from sit-in sites on the outskirts of Rawalakot after midnight, regrouped at three locations on Friday afternoon. Soon thereafter, these sites were swarming with thousands of participants, cocking a snook at official claims that the protest campaign had collapsed, according to a Dawn report.
Senior officials had claimed early on Friday that all three protest camps on the fringes of Rawalakot had been vacated after 12:30am, a little after midnight, amid expectations of a major operation by law enforcement agencies. Using threatening tones, these officials said that the protesters would have faced dire consequences had they continued their sit-ins.
It may be mentioned here that the protesters have alleged that the administration deliberately switched off power from entire towns before starting crackdowns. The protesters also claimed that at several locations, the police, the Army and the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel fired at the protesting crowds leading to heavy casualties, mostly serious injuries. The protesters also said that the exact number of casualties, both fatal and otherwise, has not been compiled by the JAAC as administration shut down internet services.
Incidentally, the initial orders for the shutdown were till June 12 only but till 5 pm on Friday evening, these services remained shut off in most parts of POJK. The JAAC leaders claimed that this was being done so that the real picture of brutalities committed by the security forces, mainly Punjabis deployed in POJK from Islamabad and Lahore divisions, cannot reach the outside world.
The largest gathering, comprising participants from Mirpur division and southern parts of Poonch division, had been camped at Eidgah Ground. This is located around 3.5 kilometres from Rawalakot city, where the administration has imposed restrictions on entry from outside areas for several days.
Poonch Divisional Commissioner Sardar Waheed Khan had told Dawn early on Friday morning that all protesters had dispersed, “unconditionally surrendering” before the state and “returning to their respective areas”. He added that the development followed back-channel contacts with local JAAC leader Umar Nazir Kashmiri through two local figures, Javed Nisar of the Rawalakot Bar Association and Javed Sharif of the Poonch District Council.
He said the intermediaries conveyed a message, urging Mr Kashmiri to call off the protest in the interest of participants’ safety. The commissioner claimed that Mr Kashmiri had sought the withdrawal of the notification proscribing JAAC and offered to end the sit-ins and surrender before local police if the demand was accepted.
Residents confirmed that Eidgah Ground appeared deserted in the early hours of Friday, with only litter left behind by departing protesters visible. However, they said that the midnight dispersal of protesters was a tactical move to deceive the administration.
People from nearby areas, protesters and supporters of JAAC, began returning to the venue by noon and the gathering steadily swelled. After Friday prayers, the crowd was estimated at between 5,000 and 6,000 people, including dozens of women and children. By evening, the number of participants had multiplied manifolds.
Similarly, around 3,000 people from Thorar, Mang and adjoining areas regrouped at the bus terminal in the afternoon, from where they had dispersed after midnight.
They were led by Sardar Arbab Advocate, a JAAC core member from Thorar.
Organisers at the site formed several committees to manage the gathering and vowed to continue the sit-in “for a long time”.
Official sources said that at the Eidgah gathering, JAAC core member Sardar Amaan of Sudhnoti had advised fellow activists against any direct confrontation with law enforcement personnel. The protesters, they said, were “divided over their next course of action, with options including marching towards the heavily fortified Rawalakot city, heading for Muzaffarabad, or continuing the sit-in at the existing venue”.
Addressing the Eidgah gathering in the evening, Mr Kashmiri vowed that the sit-in would continue and insisted that the call for a long march on Muzaffarabad had not been withdrawn. Amid the standoff between the administration and JAAC, a shutdown strike observed on the committee’s call entered its fifth consecutive day across most parts of AJK, including the region’s capital, Muzaffarabad, where markets remained largely closed. Some businesses opened briefly in the evening to cater to urgent consumer needs.
Public transport remained suspended in most areas, while private vehicles continued to operate cautiously within and between cities. Inter-district and intra-district road links also remained open.
Public transport remained suspended in most areas, while private vehicles continued to operate cautiously within and between cities. Inter-district and intra-district road links also remained open.
Meanwhile, official sources said the government had intensified measures against JAAC’s leadership by blocking the computerised national identity cards of all 31 core members and subsequently their passports.
There were also unconfirmed reports that some individuals in Mirpur had been detained for allegedly facilitating financial support to JAAC from the UK. Some local traders said to have donated generously to the organisation were also reportedly taken into custody.
