August 30, 2026
By Xari Jalil
LAHORE
In its fact-finding report Civic Spaces under Strain in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, HRCP has said that extensive restrictions on freedom of expression, movement and connectivity, along with arrests, the use of anti-terrorism laws and pressure on journalists, had significantly narrowed civic space and deepened polarisation in the region.
The commission said its mission received conflicting accounts about the scale of violence, the methods employed by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) and the conduct of security forces. However, it found broad convergence among political and community stakeholders—including both supporters and critics of JAAC—that the underlying dispute required a political rather than coercive solution.
Following major mobilisations in May 2024, negotiations between JAAC and the AJK government resulted in an October 2025 agreement containing commitments to address 38 demands. The negotiations, however, failed to resolve outstanding issues. Talks broke down on May 30, 2026, followed by the government’s proscription of JAAC on June 5 and a crackdown on its leadership and activists.
The confrontation unfolded alongside a highly contested Legislative Assembly election, with allegations of violence, political boycotts, arrests, electoral irregularities and restrictions on communications further complicating the electoral environment.
Concerns over use of force
HRCP said it was particularly concerned by the allegations of lethal and excessive use of force against protesters.
The authorities provided the mission with figures indicating that approximately 38 security personnel had been killed and 742 police personnel injured since June 2026. The mission, however, said it did not receive comparably substantiated information about civilian casualties. It received multiple accounts alleging that protesters had been killed or seriously injured by security forces but could not independently verify the full scale or circumstances of those incidents, particularly because it was unable to access Rawalakot.
The report contains accounts from families of people who died during the unrest in Rawalakot between June and July this year. HRCP has explicitly cautioned that, unless otherwise indicated, the circumstances of these deaths were not independently verified by the mission.
The commission said these limitations make an independent investigation more, rather than less, necessary.
It has called for an independent and impartial mechanism to investigate all major incidents since June, including deaths, injuries, alleged unlawful killings, excessive use of force and arbitrary detention. It said accountability should apply to state officials as well as protesters wherever individual responsibility is established by evidence.
Anti-terrorism laws and arrests
HRCP also raised concerns about the government’s use of anti-terrorism and preventive-detention provisions against people associated with the protests.
The AJK government proscribed JAAC under the AJK Anti-Terrorism Act 2014 on June 5. Authorities subsequently launched a crackdown and announced a reward of Rs10 million for information leading to the arrest of four prominent JAAC leaders, including Shoukat Nawaz Mir. Mir is a senior leader of the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee and a prominent traders’ representative in Muzaffarabad. He has emerged as one of the leading figures of the public-rights movement that has campaigned over electricity tariffs, the cost of essential commodities, government privileges and wider governance and political-representation issues.
The report says media reports indicated that Mir was arrested on June 30 after several weeks in hiding, although the arrest was not officially acknowledged and the mission found no record of him being produced before a court. Between June and August, at least 157 political workers, journalists, residents and activists were reportedly placed on the Fourth Schedule under anti-terrorism legislation.
The press statement separately highlights the addition of at least 147 JAAC activists to the Fourth Schedule. HRCP has called for the use of anti-terrorism and preventive-detention provisions to be reviewed and for such measures to be based on specific evidence, subject to due process and judicial oversight.
Journalists face pressure from both sides
The commission said restrictions on journalism and access to information further constrained civic space.
Several journalists were reportedly detained or subjected to legal proceedings in connection with their coverage of the unrest. HRCP also received allegations that JAAC supporters pressured journalists whose reporting was considered unfavourable to the movement.
The prolonged communications shutdown made it particularly difficult for journalists to independently verify reports concerning casualties, arrests, use of force and electoral irregularities.
HRCP said the cumulative effect of restrictions imposed by state authorities and pressure from non-state actors was a significant reduction in independent reporting at a time when reliable information was urgently needed.
Internet shutdown disrupted daily life
The communications shutdown also affected sectors well beyond journalism and political activity.
The report says banking, education, commerce, transport, public administration and healthcare were disrupted. Prolonged road closures and interruptions to supply routes also affected the availability of food, medicines and other essential commodities, particularly in Rawalakot and surrounding areas.
HRCP said any suspension of internet or mobile services should have a clear legal basis and meet requirements of necessity, proportionality and defined duration, with independent oversight and avenues for review.
Elections held amid boycott and restrictions
The crisis also cast a shadow over the 2026 AJK elections. The Election Commission initially scheduled polling for July 27 across all 45 directly elected constituencies, but the election was subsequently conducted in phases because of security concerns. This was the first general election in AJK to be conducted through a phased process.
HRCP’s mission observed the third phase of polling in Bagh. At the polling stations it visited, it found limited evidence of systematic physical coercion of voters by JAAC supporters. It also observed that low turnout in some areas appeared to reflect a voluntary boycott, political disillusionment and insecurity rather than systematic obstruction.
However, the commission said this did not resolve wider concerns over electoral credibility.
Heavy security deployment, communications restrictions, the boycott by major political actors, phased polling, postponed constituencies and allegations of irregularities all affected the environment in which voters exercised their political rights. HRCP’s inability to access Rawalakot also limited its independent assessment of events central to the electoral controversy.
The report notes that variations in reported turnout—from zero votes at some polling stations to exceptionally high figures at others—along with allegations of delayed polling, disruption and manipulation warrant careful examination of polling-station-level results and election records.
Call for political dialogue
HRCP concluded that the crisis could not be adequately explained through a single narrative. The government and security authorities characterised the situation as an organised armed challenge requiring extensive security measures, while JAAC supporters and several political actors regarded it primarily as a political movement whose grievances had been met with excessive force.
The commission nevertheless found broad recognition among stakeholders that the underlying grievances required a political response, warning that the resort to coercive measures instead of sustained dialogue had deepened polarisation and eroded public trust.
It has therefore recommended an inclusive and structured political dialogue involving JAAC representatives, political parties, elected representatives, lawyers, civil society, journalists and other stakeholders.
The dialogue, it said, should address governance, public expenditure and privileges, accountability, service delivery, political representation and the relationship between AJK’s elected institutions and authorities outside the territory.
Permanent mechanism and refugee seats
For the longer term, HRCP has proposed that AJK’s political parties establish a permanent, inclusive consultative mechanism to address major political, economic and constitutional grievances before they develop into prolonged strikes, blockades or violent confrontation.
It has also called for the status of the 12 seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees in the AJK Legislative Assembly to be addressed through the constitutionally prescribed process and meaningful political and public consultation.
Finally, HRCP has called on the Election Commission to undertake a comprehensive independent review of the 2026 elections, examining the effects of violence, communications restrictions, security deployment, the boycott, phased polling and postponed constituencies on voter and candidate participation, as well as allegations of electoral irregularities.
The commission said the credibility of the electoral process must be assessed not only on the conduct of polling itself but also on whether voters, candidates, political parties, journalists and civil society were able to exercise their rights in an environment conducive to free, informed and meaningful political choice.