MUZAFFARABAD:A writ petition was filed in the High Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Tuesday by three residents of Poonch, seeking protection of their fundamental rights in the wake of “repeated lockdowns, rallies, and road blockades” by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC), a civil society alliance spearheading a rights movement in the territory.

The petitioners — Sardar Imran Hussain, Sardar Ahsan Khan, and Munir Riaz — contended through their counsel, advocates Sardar Bilal Shakil and Junaid Ali Arif, that for the past two years the JKJAAC had been orchestrating shutdowns and protests which not only paralysed daily life but also caused casualties, economic losses and disruption of education, transport, tourism and medical services.

They argued that though citizens had the right to peaceful protest, the JKJAAC was neither a registered nor an elected body and therefore had no legal authority to impose closures or restrictions on the public.

“Rights of one cannot be infringed under the guise of claiming rights of others,” the petition maintained.

The petition cited last year’s long march to Muzaffarabad and the JKJAAC’s fresh call for a state-wide lockdown on September 29, 2025, as examples of “unconstitutional activity” that infringed on the freedom of movement guaranteed under Article 4 of the AJK Interim Constitution, 1974.

The petitioners requested the court to direct the government to ensure uninterrupted movement of citizens, curb any unlawful gatherings, and safeguard the fundamental rights of the public at large.

They also sought an order compelling the state to act firmly against groups that “thwart the dictates of law” and to prevent “lawlessness reminiscent of the Dogra regime.”

Chief Justice Sardar Liaqat Hussain, who took up the petition, announced in the courtroom that notices shall be issued to the respondents, including the AJK government through the chief secretary, inspector general of police, secretaries of law and interior, divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners, and district police chiefs across the state, to submit their comments on the petition before or by the next date of hearing, presumably September 15.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2025