June 11, 2026
By Farhan Tariq
RAWALAKOT/MUZAFFARABAD
The wheel-jam and shutter-down strike in Azad Kashmir continues unabated in the aftermath of the ban placed on the Jammu & Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC). JAAC has announced that its Muzaffarabad Long March will maintain its encampment at Rawlakot for the time being to allow for negotiations with the government.
Four preconditions before negotiations
According to local journalists, Core Committee member Sardar Umar Nazir Kashmiri, addressing thousands of participants at the Eidgah Ground in Rawlakot, stated that the government has extended an offer for talks. However, the Committee has laid down four preconditions before entering into any negotiations:
1. The notification declaring the Joint Awami Action Committee banned, along with all related proceedings, must be immediately withdrawn.
2. Complete withdrawal of FC, PC, and Rangers personnel deployed in Azad Kashmir must be ensured.
3. The bodies of martyrs must be handed over to their families, arrested activists must be immediately released, and the injured must be provided medical facilities without delay.
4. The sub-committee’s remaining demands must also be fulfilled in advance.
Sardar Umar Nazir Kashmiri made it clear that negotiations would only be possible after tangible progress on these conditions.
Deserted streets and flag marches
On Wednesday, markets, banks, and medical stores remained completely shut across the entire region, including Muzaffarabad. The streets of Muzaffarabad were deserted, though security forces continued their flag marches.
According to information received by 2 PM, the convoy coming from Mirpur Division had already moved past Tehsil Hajira in District Poonch, while the convoy from District Sudhnoti was halted at Banjosa. The convoy departing from Tehsil Thorar was present at the Khad location near Rawlakot. A convoy from Rairra, a sub-tehsil of Bagh district, set off toward Rawlakot via the Toli Pir route.
According to local journalist Ajmal Shaheen, announcements were being made from mosques in Rawlakot urging people to remain indoors as curfew had been imposed outside — however, curfew could not be officially confirmed. Local journalist Khurshid Baig reported that a large number of forces were present at D-Chowk.
A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that Rangers were being airlifted from Muzaffarabad to Rawalakot via helicopters since early morning. Local residents say the city is also being monitored through drones and helicopters. Mobile internet service in the region has been suspended since 11:00 PM on June 6th and has not yet been restored.
AJK PM departs for Islamabad
The region’s Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore arrived in Muzaffarabad overnight on June 9-10, and departed for Islamabad in the afternoon. According to Education Minister Malik Zafar, the Prime Minister had come to Muzaffarabad for a cabinet meeting, and following the session, he is expected to meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad to discuss important matters. No major untoward incident was reported in Muzaffarabad until 2:00 PM, and the overall law and order situation remained under control.
Funeral prayers for copter crash martyrs
The funeral prayers for the soldiers martyred in the helicopter crash near Muzaffarabad were offered with full military honours. Senior military and civil officials, as well as a large number of civilians, attended the funeral. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), a Pakistan Army Aviation MI-17 helicopter crashed near Muzaffarabad. ISPR stated that the MI-17 helicopter crashed due to a technical fault during takeoff, resulting in the martyrdom of all personnel on board.
Demand for the recovery of Dr Wajid Lone
The Academics Staff Association of Pakistan-administered Kashmir has demanded the immediate recovery of Director Academics Professor Dr. Wajid Aziz Lone.
According to the Association’s statement, on the night between June 5 and 6, at around 11:00 PM, several armed masked individuals forcibly took Dr. Lone from his in-laws’ residence and moved him to an undisclosed location. The statement strongly condemned this action, describing it as having no legal justification.
According to family sources, Dr. Lone and his wife had visited the home of banned committee leader Shaukat Nawaz Mir on the night of June 5. Shaukat Nawaz Mir was not present at home, but the masked individuals forcibly entered the premises in search of him and took Dr. Lone along with another relative of Shaukat Nawaz Mir, Naveed Aftab. No contact has been possible with either of them since.
Dr. Lone’s family has filed a writ petition in the Azad Kashmir High Court seeking his recovery. The Association has demanded that the government, heads of law enforcement agencies, the University Registrar, and the Vice Chancellor take immediate steps to secure Dr. Lone’s release. It is worth noting that Dr. Wajid Lone holds a doctoral degree in Biomedical Signal Processing and Machine Learning from PIEAS, and has also completed postdoctoral research at the University of Leicester, United Kingdom.