The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) marked its third foundation day on Saturday by inaugurating its central secretariat in Rawalakot and holding a massive public rally that drew thousands of participants, according to witnesses.
The secretariat was inaugurated in Supply Bazaar by two young children — Ehsam Ansar and Aashir Anwar, sons of the late Muhammad Ansar of Chamyati — along with Sardar Tariq Mahmood of Hajira. The site holds symbolic significance for the movement, as it was from there that a sit-in against an alleged wheat flour shortage and inflated electricity bills had begun in May 2023, eventually evolving into a state-wide rights movement.
The three belonged to families of activists who lost their lives during protests linked to the movement. Muhammad Ansar was killed in Chamyati (Dhirkot) during the long march staged last year, while Mr Mahmood’s son, Haseeb Tariq, was killed during a similar protest in Mirpur in October last year while working at a private hotel.
Following the inauguration, participants took out a procession from Supply Bazaar that marched nearly two kilometres through the city’s main thoroughfare before reaching Bank Road, where arrangements for the main public meeting had been made near Maqbool Butt Shaheed Chowk.
The main road had remained closed to traffic overnight between Friday and Saturday, with barricades erected and tents and chairs set up along both sides of the route.
Thousands of participants carrying Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) flags chanted slogans demanding “right to governance” and “right to ownership”. The rally was led by JAAC’s core leadership, with representatives attending from across the state.
In a show of solidarity, traders in Rawalakot kept their shops closed, though vehicular traffic continued through alternate routes.
The public meeting began in the evening, with organisers repeatedly playing songs and anthems to energise participants. Although no police personnel were visibly deployed at the venue, the administration said stringent security arrangements had been put in place.
In their speeches, some early speakers suggested that the movement would not participate in elections under the existing political system.
As many as 17 core JAAC members from across AJK attended the gathering, including Shaukat Nawaz Mir, Anjum Zaman Awan, Mujtaba Banday, Khawaja Mehran, Saad Ansari, Chaudhry Aslam, Imtiaz Aslam, Chaudhry Shabbir, Raja Mujtaba, Umar Nazir Kashmiri, Iftikhar Zaman, Abid Shaheen, Mujtaba Farooqui, Murtaza Sharif, Sardar Shabbir and Khan Ilyas, besides dozens of local leaders.
The public meeting was continuing till late in the evening, and no prominent core leader had addressed the gathering by the time this report was filed at 9:30pm.
Tariq Naqash
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