MUZAFFARABAD: Residents across Azad Kashmir have urged authorities to restore law and order, saying weeks of protests have severely disrupted daily life, business and public services.
People from different walks of life said they were frustrated by demonstrations of the banned JAAC that have continued for around 40 days. They called for immediate steps to restore peace and normalcy.
Several residents said members of the banned Awami Action Committee were carrying weapons and intimidating the public. They said armed groups had used automatic weapons and explosive devices during clashes with security forces while the state was still exercising restraint against them.
Local residents also referred to a recent incident in which they said an Islamabad police officer, who was traveling home on leave, was attacked, robbed and falsely portrayed in a misleading video circulated online. The police was a Kashmiri was who was coming home on leave.
Residents said businesses had been forced to close and transport had been disrupted. They said protesters of pressuring traders to shut markets and blocking key roads, causing heavy economic losses.
Atiq Ali Shah, a local resident, alleged that students, women and children had been used as human shields during protests. He also claimed that students had been drawn away from their education to participate in demonstrations.
Residents said they wanted peaceful political activity but opposed violence and coercion. They urged protest organisers to avoid disrupting public life and called on authorities to enforce the law.
They also expressed concern over reported threats to block entry points into the region, saying such actions would further affect trade, travel and access to essential goods.
According to local residents, recent protests have already inflicted billions of rupees in economic losses on the region.
Referring to a recent clash in Rawalakot, where armed men opened fire on public at bus staff and martyred a soldier who come forward to safeguard the people, they said the JAAC is serving agenda of the anti-Pakistan elements in the region.
Residents welcomed the deployment of additional security personnel and ongoing operations to reopen major highways, including the Kotli–Tararkhel road. They said restoring transport links was essential to ensuring the supply of food, medicine and other basic necessities.
Some residents also commented on the group’s political demands, saying that if its leaders sought political change and abolishing of refugees’ seats, they should contest elections instead of disrupting public life.
The residents urged all sides to pursue dialogue within the law and called on top leadership of the JAAC involved in the sit-ins to surrender peacefully to authorities in order to pursue talks for restoration of peace and normalcy. They said lasting peace, public safety and economic stability should remain the people of the region’s top priorities.
