Raja Waseem Aslam, a UK-based businessman and philanthropist with roots in Khuriatta, Kotli, Kashmir, and a long history with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), has strongly denounced the recent surge in violence by the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) against law enforcement agencies in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). He emphasized the need for all parties involved to engage in dialogue and reconciliation to ease the escalating tensions.
This statement arrives as law and order in AJK has sharply deteriorated. In Rawlakot, violent clashes erupted between police and supporters of the recently banned JAAC, resulting in the deaths of at least four policemen and injuries to 20 others. The confrontations also caused multiple civilian casualties and numerous injuries, leading authorities to contemplate imposing a curfew and initiating a comprehensive crackdown on the group.
Officials assert that the violence was orchestrated, with armed individuals infiltrating the protests to launch coordinated assaults on police and security forces. Aslam unequivocally condemned these attacks, stating that targeting and killing law enforcement personnel is entirely unacceptable and cannot be justified by any political or economic grievances. He highlighted that those in uniform are local sons protecting their communities, and attacking them equates to an attack on AJK itself.
In a significant development, the AJK government has officially banned the JAAC, accusing it of terrorism, inciting hatred, and fostering disorder within the region. The organisation has a history of leading large-scale protests, some of which escalated into violent clashes with law enforcement, resulting in fatalities during incidents in May 2024 and September 2025.
