AJK Bans JAAC As June 9 Protest Triggers Security Clampdown

The Azad Jammu and Kashmir government has declared the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee a proscribed organisation, escalating tensions in the region just days before a planned June 9 protest in Muzaffarabad. The decision was taken under anti-terrorism provisions and comes amid a wider security push across AJK.

Authorities have already moved to restrict public movement and manage the risk of unrest, with tourists advised to leave the territory and intending visitors asked to delay travel plans until later in June. Hotels were also reportedly directed to vacate guests as officials prepared for possible disruption during the peak tourism season.

The protest call by JAAC is focused on the demand to abolish 12 legislative seats reserved for refugees from Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir who settled in Pakistan after 1947. The committee has argued that these seats affect the political balance in AJK and are used by major parties from Pakistan to influence government formation in the territory.

In its notification, the AJK Home Department accused the committee of activities that it said threatened public order and security. Officials alleged that the group was spreading unrest, creating fear among citizens and encouraging conditions that could disturb peace ahead of the scheduled long march and sit-in.

Security measures have been intensified across the region as the administration prepares for the June 9 mobilisation. Internet and mobile data services were reportedly suspended in several areas, while law-enforcement deployment was increased around sensitive government installations and routes leading toward Muzaffarabad.

The dispute has emerged from a long-running political debate over representation in the AJK Legislative Assembly. Refugee seats have historically remained a sensitive issue because they connect the region’s electoral structure with the unresolved Kashmir dispute, Pakistan’s national politics and local demands for greater autonomy.

The upcoming demonstration is also being watched in the context of earlier rights-based movements in AJK, where public mobilisation over electricity prices, subsidies, governance and representation has drawn large crowds. The latest restrictions suggest that authorities are treating the June 9 call as a major law-and-order challenge rather than a routine protest.

The decision may have immediate effects on tourism, local businesses, education schedules and public confidence across AJK. With visitors being asked to leave and security forces placed on alert, the region faces economic disruption at a time when summer travel usually supports hotels, transport operators and small traders.

The next phase will depend on whether JAAC attempts to proceed despite the ban and whether political or judicial intervention offers a path to negotiation. For now, AJK remains under heightened watch as the administration prepares for a potentially tense confrontation between protest organisers and the state.