Significant number of Fitna Al Khawarij elements present among AJK protesters: information secretary

AJK Information Secretary Muhammad Rashid Hanif on Tuesday claimed that a significant number of protesters participating in the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) demonstration in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) were affiliated with Fitna Al Khawarij.

Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

Addressing a press conference, Hanif said that illegal and violent activities had taken place in AJK aimed at disrupting the upcoming phases of elections in the region.

“The fundamental duty of the state is to maintain law and order, continue the democratic process and fulfil this responsibility. The state is capable of doing so,” he stressed.

The senior official reiterated that the JAAC protest included individuals linked to Fitna Al Khawarij rather than only ordinary citizens.

He also played a video as evidence, which showed masked gunmen on the roof of a building in the region.

“Common people are fewer in number; however, armed individuals, militants and Fitna Al Khawarij members are present, which falls under the definition of terrorism,” Hanif maintained.

“They have involved innocent people by misleading them. We appeal to the people to distance themselves from them. The government will also make some public announcements in this regard to fulfil its responsibility,” he stated.

The regional information secretary added that anti-state elements were using children and women as human shields.

“Several misleading videos have been circulated on social media, indicating that it is a human rights movement; however, that is not the case.”

Hanif elaborated that state institutions have adequate information regarding the presence of Fitna Al Khawarij elements and members of other militant organisations.

Addressing the media after the information secretary, AJK police spokesperson and Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Irfan Kashfi said that these elements would be “handled in the same way that any terrorists or militants are handled”.

He said that, having modern weapons and resources — including automatic weapons, M-4 rifles, SMGs, AK-47s and others, even making use of snipers according to initial information — they were “not peaceful protesters, but militants”.

The DIG noted that one police official had been martyred in the skirmishes and five more were injured. He also said one person had been arrested in Rawalakot, from whose possession a military-grade weapon was also recovered.

According to initial information, he said, the suspect was from a foreign country and was acting as a sniper.

“Security forces are answering (attacks) in self-defence and for the protection of the public,” Kashfi said, noting that law enforcement agencies (LEAs) showed great endurance.

He added that facilitators of these militants were also being investigated.

The senior police official assured that there was no need to believe the “misconception” that these militants could capture Rawalakot or any other area, as LEAs would “persist at all costs”.

Earlier today, while sharing a video of several people carrying arms in AJK, the region’s Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore said, “They planned this for weeks and now they have got what they wanted: the blood of innocent Kashmiris.”

“The rioters not only have sophisticated weapons, they also have the advantage of access to all vantage points from where they take aim at security forces, whose only objective has been to contain the situation and prevent escalation,” Rathore stated.

He added that the march to Muzaffarabad during the elections was a “conniving plan to trigger mass unrest”.

“I appeal to the people to stay away from these agitators who have a proven record of using civilians as human shields and creating a win-win situation for themselves once security personnel act in self-defence,” he said.

Over the past month, the regional administration and the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) have been at odds over various issues, most notably the committee’s demand to abolish the 12 seats in the region’s Legislative Assembly, which has resulted in protests across the region.

On June 5, the JAAC was declared a proscribed organisation by the regional government and placed under the First Schedule of the region’s anti-terrorism act (ATA).

A day later, AJK authorities launched a crackdown on the JAAC, arresting scores of its leaders and later placing 147 of its activists on the Fourth Schedule of the ATA.