In Pakistan administered Jammu Kashmir (PAJK), officially named Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) in Pakistan, the AJK Police recently went on strike. Over the past two years, the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a coalition of grassroots activists, has emerged as a powerful socio-political force demanding economic justice, democratic reform, and accountable governance.
Police Strike and JAAC
The Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) has become central to virtually every protest in PAJK, with even police demonstrators adopting the Committee's slogans. On July 17, 2025, JAAC's Core Committee announced full support for a police strike scheduled for July 21 over their "Charter of Demands." The following day, however, police officials denied any strike plans through a press release, calling such reports fake news spread by troublemakers and threatening legal action against those spreading the information.
Despite official denials, police strikes and sit-ins began appearing in Rawalakot, Mirpur, and other cities, with images circulating widely on Facebook. Protesting officers staged sit-ins and threatened to move toward the capital Muzaffarabad if their demands remained unmet. Their use of the slogan "Sada Haq Aithay Rakh" (Put our rights here) demonstrated how the Action Committee's rights-based messaging had penetrated official circles beyond civilian sectors.
In Muzaffarabad, protests pivot to a sexual exploitation scandal that demonstrators claim is not being properly investigated due to high-ranking involvement. The scandal allegedly involves government operatives who, under the pretense of offering employment, sexually exploited vulnerable women and connected them with influential figures.
When a journalist began investigating after learning details from a victim, the inquiry reportedly uncovered prominent names, including allegedly a parliamentary secretariat photographer. As the investigation progressed, powerful figures began obstructing it, one accused person reportedly fled to the UK, and pressure mounted to release those arrested.
The investigating officer was initially transferred but reinstated following Action Committee protests. Local civil society group Chinar Awami Tehreek organized protests that received backing from the Traders Association, Action Committee, and other civic organizations. While reports suggest police demands may have been met, protests over the sexual scandal and sit-ins in Dhirkot continue.
A New Awakening?
The public's consistent turn to the Action Committee, and the government's expected response to the Committee's involvement, indicates that the Joint Awami Action Committee is transforming from a protest organization into a comprehensive social movement surpassing any previous public mobilization in the region.
What began in May 2023 as a small sit-in outside a flour depot in Rawalakot, protesting the removal of subsidies on wheat, has since evolved into a widespread movement that has shaken the region’s political status quo.
The JAAC, formed through a union of citizen committees backed by a range of traditional progressive and nationalist groups, traders and students across various districts, has successfully mobilized thousands around issues like unaffordable electricity bills, food insecurity, and the unchecked privileges of the political elite.
Ever since, villages are rising up for land rights and cities bursting with political activism.
Is a new ‘Azad Kashmir’ replacing the old? Or, is Azad Kashmir experiencing what Gramsci described as the intervening period of that precarious moment when the old order dies but the new cannot yet be born, giving rise to crisis rather than transformation? Are we witnessing a crisis emerging from the decay of an exhausted system, trapped between what no longer works and what has yet to take shape?
The answer to this question lies in a dispassionate analysis of the JAAC’s journey thus far and the challenges it faces.
JAAC’s Evolution
Initially dismissed by government officials, the Committee gained traction as protests spread from Poonch to Kotli, Mirpur, Bhimber, and eventually Muzaffarabad. A turning point came in September 2023 when JAAC formally adopted a 30-member core committee and issued its first Charter of Demands. The movement also declared a civil disobedience campaign, calling for a boycott of electricity bills. The response was overwhelming: citizens across the region refused to pay, and protests became routine across towns and villages.
As the demands expanded to include food subsidies and a rollback of elite perks, abuse of power, corruption, exploitation of the AJK (PAJK) resources the Committee struck a nerve. In May 2024, a long march culminated in mass rallies and tense stand-offs with law enforcement including calling in Rangers and sweeping arrests of activists, and casualties, resulting in widespread condemnation of state repression.
Pakistani authorities realised they could no longer ignore the discontent in the region and agreed to use the ‘AJK’ resources pledged Rs 23 billion to address some of the demands, besides promising to release the detainees.
After May Rally Success
Following a December 8, 2024 agreement in Kohala, the government implemented only one demand of resumption of a major delayed project but failed on all others. Given a six-month extension until June 8, 2025, the committee then presented a new 38-point Charter of Demands based on public consultation.
The government tried to suppress protests through a Presidential Ordinance requiring prior permission for public gatherings. Mass mobilization by the Action Committee and resistance groups forced its withdrawal, with even Azad Kashmir's President calling his own signed ordinance a "black law".
A memorial gathering for those allegedly killed by Pakistani Rangers on May 13th was held on May 24, 2025, honouring martyrs from both sides of the Line of Control after the three-day India-Pakistan war in May 2025. The event drew unexpectedly large crowds and expanded the Charter to include abolishing 12 Legislative Assembly seats for Kashmiri refugees in Pakistan, free education and healthcare, and an international airport.
On July 17, 2025, the Core Committee condemned continued government violations of agreements and announced that if progress wasn't made on their demands, a general strike would begin on September 29, 2025, continuing until demands were met.
Impact and Shifting Consciousness
The trajectory of the movement reveals a political reawakening in the region. For the first time in decades, previously disconnected or disillusioned groups including students, labourers, middle-class professionals, and even segments of the civil service, are finding common cause in demanding democratic accountability and economic fairness.
The JAAC has consciously worked to overcome traditional divides like clan, region, language, and instead foregrounded inclusive principles of rights, dignity, and public service. The revival of indigenous languages like Pahari and Gojri, sidelined for years, has found cultural expression in the movement. Equally significant is the growing involvement of youth and women, though challenges remain in ensuring equitable representation.
From an amorphous protest network, JAAC now functions as a de facto political opposition. Its discourse is no longer confined to streets and social media. It is shaping policy discussions, unsettling the bureaucracy, and confronting decades of inertia in PAJK’s political apparatus.
The Challenges Ahead
Despite its gains, the movement faces formidable hurdles. Internally, there is no consensus on electoral participation or long-term political strategy. The Committee’s core body struggles with representation gaps—particularly of women and marginalized communities—and lacks sustainable funding mechanisms.
Financial constraints limit the committee's operational capacity, while communication breakdowns hinder effective coordination with local workers and broader public outreach. The organization struggles to properly educate and train local committees, undermining grassroots effectiveness.
Besides, tribal and regional loyalists pose threats to the committee's broader unity, while opportunists exploit the Kashmir issue for personal political gain rather than genuine rights advocacy. Segments of the movement veer toward ideological rigidity or impractical idealism, risking alienation from the pragmatic base it has so successfully mobilized.
External threats pose equally serious challenges to the movement's survival and success. AJK’s entrenched political elite, threatened by this bottom-up mobilisation, have used legal tools, surveillance, and repression to curb its momentum. Pakistani state institutions remain wary, interpreting the demand for rights as a challenge to central authority rather than a call for decentralization and dignity.
Emerging Opportunities
The Joint Awami Action Committee stands at a critical juncture with substantial opportunities to transform Azad Kashmir's political landscape. The movement has an opportunity to deepen and broaden representation, moving beyond its current composition to include previously marginalised voices and constituencies.
A significant opening exists to educate and train the younger generation according to real and objective conditions, creating a more informed and engaged citizenry. The committee can work toward establishing Azad Kashmir-Pakistan relations based on mutual interests and equality, potentially leading to new agreements that better serve regional needs.
Perhaps most importantly, there's an opportunity to redefine governance in Azad Kashmir, transforming it from a tool of authoritarianism and self-enrichment into a means for solving legitimate public issues through genuine consultation.
The movement can establish a broader political platform aimed at achieving dignified, empowered, and welfare-oriented government. The skilled diaspora community, particularly those with technical, scientific, political, and business expertise, presents opportunities for collaboration and participation across administrative, governmental, commercial, and financial sectors. Additionally, the committee can build relations and foster dialogue with forces across all regions supporting public rights and dignified governance within the broader Kashmir context.
The Core Committee can expand to the Union Council level to address representation issues like education, health and governance, while reorganization could ensure meaningful participation of women and youth reflecting ground realities and evolving needs.
The JAAC now represents a broader yearning across Azad Kashmir for a governance model based on rights, dignity, and public accountability.
Looking Forward
As elections are approaching and AJK’s political dynamics shift, a lot depends on how the JAAC responds. Will it enter formal electoral politics? Will it obstruct a process it deems illegitimate? Or will it lead a new generation of civic resistance rooted in constitutional reform?
What is clear is this: the people of Azad Kashmir are no longer silent. Whether through sit-ins by disillusioned police officers, mass boycotts of inflated bills, or unified rallies from Kotli to Muzaffarabad around a range of issues related to needs, dignity and accountability, a new political consciousness is asserting itself. In the words of many on the ground, “The old Azad Kashmir is giving way to a new one.”
Whether that new vision is realised depends on the movement’s ability to stay united, inclusive, and strategic.
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