Tension is rising across Azad Jammu and Kashmir as authorities move hard against the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKAAC) ahead of its planned shutter-down and wheel-jam strike on June 9.
In the latest developments, one JKAAC member was killed, while police and security agencies detained dozens of people, including senior and second-tier leaders of the group, in a sweeping crackdown aimed at stopping the protest from spreading. Officials say the arrests are part of a law-and-order operation, but supporters of the movement see them as an attempt to silence political dissent.
The JKAAC has called for a region-wide strike, accusing the government of ignoring public demands and breaking promises. The planned shutdown has already placed the territory on edge, with security forces deployed in large numbers in Muzaffarabad and other parts of AJK. Authorities have warned that they will not allow unrest, and the region now stands at a tense crossroads between protest and state power.
The situation has also been linked to wider political tensions in Pakistan, especially the growing conflict between the military establishment and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Protesters and critics say this broader struggle has created a climate in which opposition voices are being squeezed more sharply, including in Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
In Gilgit-Baltistan, PTI leaders have also accused the caretaker setup, the Election Commission, and powerful state institutions of election manipulation ahead of polling. They say restrictions on campaigning, pressure on candidates, and administrative barriers are undermining fair competition. Government officials have rejected those claims, but the accusations have deepened mistrust in a region already shaken by political uncertainty.
As the June 9 strike approaches, the atmosphere remains tense. What began as a protest over local grievances has now become part of a larger battle over rights, power, and political control in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
