MUZAFFARABAD: Activists and supporters of the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), who had dispersed from sit-in sites on the outskirts of Rawalakot after midnight, regrouped at two locations on Friday afternoon, drawing thousands of participants des­pite official claims that the protest campaign had collapsed.

Senior officials had claimed early on Friday that all three protest camps on the fringes of Rawalakot had been vacated after 12:30am amid expectations of a major operation by law enforcement agencies.

The largest gathering, comprising participants from Mirpur division and southern parts of Poonch division, had been camped at Eidgah Ground, around 3.5 kilometres from Rawalakot city, where the administration has imposed restrictions on entry from outside areas for several days.

Speaking to Dawn in the early hours of Friday, Poonch Divisional Comm­issioner Sardar Waheed Khan claimed that all protesters had dispersed, “unconditionally surrendering” before the state and “returning to their respective areas”.

He added that the development followed back-cha­nnel contacts with local JAAC leader Umar Nazir Kashmiri through two local figures, Javed Nisar of the Rawalakot Bar Asso­ciation and Javed Sha­rif of the Poonch District Council.

He said the intermediaries conveyed a message, urging Mr Kashmiri to call off the protest in the interest of participants’ safety.

The commissioner clai­med that Mr Kashmiri had sought the withdrawal of the notification proscribing JAAC and offered to end the sit-ins and surrender before local police if the demand was accepted.

Residents contacted by Dawn also confirmed that Eidgah Ground appeared deserted in the early hours of Friday, with only litter left behind by departing protesters.

Protesters return

However, people from nearby areas began ret­urning to the venue by noon and the gathering steadily swelled.

After Friday prayers, the crowd was estimated at between 5,000 and 6,000 people, including dozens of women and children. By evening, the number of participants had multiplied manifolds.

Similarly, around 3,000 people from Thorar, Mang and adjoining areas regrouped at the bus terminal in the afternoon, from where they had dispersed after midnight.

They were led by Sardar Arbab Advocate, a JAAC core member from Thorar.

Organisers at the site formed several committees to manage the gathering and vowed to continue the sit-in “for a long time”.

Official sources said that at the Eidgah gathering, JAAC core member Sardar Amaan of Sudhnoti had advised fellow activists against any direct confrontation with law enforcement personnel. The protesters, they said, were “divided over their next course of action, with options including marching towards the heavily fortified Rawalakot city, heading for Muzaffarabad, or continuing the sit-in at the existing venue”.

Addressing the Eidgah gathering in the evening, Mr Kashmiri vowed that the sit-in would continue and insisted that the call for a long march on Muzaffarabad had not been withdrawn.

Amid the standoff between the administration and JAAC, a shutdown strike observed on the committee’s call entered its fifth consecutive day across most parts of AJK, including the region’s capital, Muzaff­arabad, where markets remained largely closed. Some businesses opened briefly in the evening to cater to urgent consumer needs.

Public transport rema­ined suspended in most areas, while private vehicles continued to operate cautiously within and bet­ween cities. Inter-district and intra-district road links also remained open.

Meanwhile, official sources said the government had intensified measures against JAAC’s leadership by blocking the computerised national identity cards of all 31 core members and subsequently their passports.

There were also unconfirmed reports that some individuals in Mirpur had been detained for allegedly facilitating financial support to JAAC from the UK. Some local traders said to have donated generously to the organisation were also reportedly taken into custody.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2026