After five days of paralysing protests, common sense finally prevailed in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Cornered by an unprecedented show of public defiance, the governments of Pakistan and AJK had no choice but to sit across the table with the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) and yield to popular demands.
The agreement lays down reforms with timelines, signaling a potential shift in how AJK is governed. The size of the cabinet is to be capped at 20 ministers and advisers, and the number of administrative secretaries trimmed to the same ceiling. Refugee ministers will be removed and their development funds cut off, though the question of their seats in the assembly will be reviewed by a special committee. In a landmark step, the Accountability Bureau and the Anti-Corruption Establishment will be merged under a new framework aligned with Pakistan’s NAB law. The long-neglected Local Government Act of 1990 will be restored within 90 days – a move aimed at re-establishing institutional credibility.
Within 15 days, the government is obliged to release funds for long-promised health cards. Most crucially, a staggering Rs10 billion will be injected into the collapsing electricity system – the very issue that ignited mass protests.
The JAAC is a non-partisan, indigenous coalition that draws support from all walks of life. Its agenda focuses on reforms in political and governance structures, improved infrastructure and local control over natural resources.
The movement commands massive public backing across the political spectrum. Since 2023, this support has been demonstrated through unprecedentedly successful shutdown strikes and long marches that shook not only major cities but also small towns and village markets, where shops remained shuttered and people poured into the streets.
The roots of the movement go back to 2021, when the sudden revocation of flour subsidies ignited public anger. It gained greater momentum in 2023, after households were burdened with highly inflated electricity bills. That year, AJK witnessed two historic strikes against rising electricity costs, marking a new phase of popular resistance. Yet, despite multiple rounds of negotiations between JAAC leaders and the authorities, no progress was achieved. To make matters worse, then-PM Anwarul Haq Kakar and other ministers mocked the JAAC and issued provocative statements, adding insult to public injury.
In May 2024, the movement reached a turning point as a four-day protest paralyzed the entire region. Tens of thousands converged in Muzaffarabad to press for their demands, particularly a reduction in electricity prices. Under immense pressure, the AJK government – backed by Islamabad – announced significant cuts in electricity and flour prices. However, other promises, including downsizing the bloated cabinet and curbing the extravagant misuse of public funds, were left unfulfilled. As repeated calls went unanswered, in May 2025 the JAAC broadened its charter of demands to include the revocation of 12 refugee seats in Pakistan, mainly in Punjab and Sindh, where elections have long been marred by large-scale rigging on these seats. The JAAC set September 29 as a final deadline for authorities to accord their charter of demands.
The demand to abolish refugee seats quickly became a major rallying point across the political spectrum. Just a few months earlier, in a press conference, senior PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah had openly admitted that his party intended to secure the ten refugee seats in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – through administrative measures – in order to form the government in Azad Kashmir. His candid remarks confirmed long-standing allegations that these seats were being used to impose a government chosen not by the people of AJK, but by the ruling party in Islamabad.
These seats have consistently undermined electoral transparency, often allowing individuals with no genuine link to Kashmir to enter the assembly. With few exceptions, refugee members of the AJK Assembly have historically been used as pawns to engineer political instability in successive governments. In addition, the AJK government allocates special development grants to these members for constituencies scattered across Pakistan – funds that are rarely spent on the ground.
Against this backdrop, the JAAC’s demand to abolish the refugee seats altogether resonated widely and gained massive public support, transforming into one of the central issues of the movement.
To defuse the growing momentum, the AJK government, backed by all major political parties except the PTI and Jamaat-e-Islami, organised public gatherings in Rawalakot and Bagh. Yet, these rallies drew little enthusiasm from the local population, a telling sign of where the public mood truly stood.
Realising the shifting ground, the federal government intervened just days before the September 29 deadline. Two ministers were dispatched to Muzaffarabad for talks with the Joint Awami Action Committee. However, despite several rounds of discussions, a deadlock persisted on key issues, keeping tensions high and uncertainty looming over the region.
On September 29, a complete strike shut down Azad Jammu and Kashmir, with massive crowds rallying in both major cities and small towns observed. In several places, police opened fire on demonstrators, who retaliated with stone-pelting. The clashes left seven civilians and three police personnel dead, further deepening public resolve to continue the rights movement.
In defiance, protesters began marching towards Muzaffarabad in their own vehicles, supported along the way by local communities who provided food, water, and shelter. Videos and pictures circulating widely showed that the movement was driven primarily by young people, students and political activists. It became clear that if no agreement was reached, hundreds of thousands would soon converge on the AJK capital.
In the end, pragmatism overtook stubbornness in Islamabad. A high-powered federal delegation rushed to Muzaffarabad, held multiple rounds of talks with JAAC representatives, and struck an agreement that offered a face-saving ‘win-win’ for both sides. For ordinary people, it was a moment of achievement: their voices had been heard and the state refrained from using brute force to suppress a genuine and indigenous rights movement.
This movement has set a new benchmark. Governments can no longer afford to ignore the street. More importantly, it may serve as a prelude for other regions of Pakistan to unite around common causes and launch strong, peaceful movements for their fundamental rights – holding the ruling class accountable without the crutch of foreign intervention.
The writer is a freelance contributor. He tweets ErshadMahmud and can be reached at: ershad.mahmudgmail.com