At Least 38 Killed in JAAC-Linked Unrest Since Movement’s Rise in AJK

Muzaffarabad: At least 38 people have been killed in major protest waves linked to the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee since the movement emerged as a region-wide force in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, according to a review of figures reported by Reuters, Associated Press, Dawn and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

The toll includes civilians, protesters and law enforcement personnel killed during three major rounds of unrest in 2024, 2025 and 2026. A separate 2021 shooting in Sharda, Neelum Valley, which predates JAAC’s formation but remains significant in the region’s memory of state-force violence, left one local youth dead.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said large-scale protests in AJK began periodically from March 2023, while the Joint Awami Action Committee came to the forefront after public anger over flour prices, electricity tariffs and elite privileges. HRCP’s 2024 fact-finding report says JAAC was formed in August 2023 after protests spread from Rawalakot to Muzaffarabad and Mirpur over wheat flour and electricity prices.

Confirmed JAAC-Linked Death Toll

Based on available mainstream reporting, the minimum confirmed death toll in major JAAC-linked protest waves stands at 38:

Period	Reported deaths	Breakdown available from sources
May 2024 protests	4	3 protesters/civilians and 1 police officer
Sept–Oct 2025 protests	At least 10	Earlier Reuters count said 5 civilians and 3 police; later AP and Reuters reported at least 10 total
June 2026 protests	At least 24	Reuters reported at least 20 civilians and 4 police officers
Total JAAC-linked toll	At least 38	Civilians/protesters and security personnel

The first major deadly confrontation came in May 2024, when protests over electricity and wheat flour prices escalated during a long march towards Muzaffarabad. Associated Press reported that four people, including a police officer, were killed after security forces used tear gas and opened fire during clashes with demonstrators.

HRCP’s fact-finding report recorded that the 2024 clashes in Muzaffarabad led to the deaths of three protesters, while a police sub-inspector was killed in Islamgarh, Mirpur. The report also said the entry of Pakistan Rangers and the use of force intensified public outrage.

The movement again turned deadly in 2025, when protests led by the Awami Action Committee spread across Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Reuters reported on October 2, 2025, that at least eight people, five civilians and three policemen, had been killed in four days of violent protests. Two days later, Associated Press reported that a peace agreement had ended protests that had left at least 10 people dead.

The deadliest phase so far occurred in June 2026, after the AJK government banned JAAC under anti-terrorism laws ahead of a planned strike and protest over reserved refugee seats in the Legislative Assembly. Reuters reported on June 19 that nearly two weeks of unrest had left at least 24 people dead, including 20 civilians and four police officers, while 515 people had been detained.

Dawn earlier reported that at least seven civilians were killed in Rawalakot during clashes between police and newly proscribed JAAC protesters, while four law enforcement personnel were also killed. The clash followed the death of a trader allegedly shot during a confrontation with law enforcers.

2021 Sharda Shooting: A Pre-JAAC Incident Remembered in Neelum Valley

Although it occurred before JAAC’s later formation, the 2021 Sharda shooting in Neelum Valley is often cited by local activists as part of a wider history of resentment over the deployment and conduct of outside security forces in AJK.

According to Dawn, nine constables of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Elite Police and Frontier Reserve Police were taken into custody in Sharda town on July 27, 2021, after firing that killed a local youth, Attiqur Rehman, who was hit in the head and died on the way to hospital. Dawn reported that the personnel had been deployed in the upper belt of Neelum Valley for election-related law and order duties.

Some local accounts and activist reports described the incident as firing by outside security personnel and reported that more than a dozen people were injured. The Urdu outlet Jeddojehad reported that at least one civilian was killed and more than 15 were injured in the Sharda incident.

However, mainstream reporting identified the force involved as KP Elite Police and Frontier Reserve Police, not Frontier Corps. For accuracy, the incident should be described as the 2021 Sharda firing by KP police/Frontier Reserve Police personnel, while noting that some local accounts refer to the personnel more generally as “FC” or outside forces.

Pattern of Escalation

The deaths across 2024, 2025 and 2026 show a repeated pattern: public mobilisation over economic and political grievances, breakdown of talks, deployment of police and paramilitary forces, communications restrictions, clashes, and deaths on both sides.

JAAC’s core demands have evolved from subsidies on wheat flour and electricity to broader questions of governance, elite privileges, public resources and political representation. In 2026, the central dispute shifted to the abolition of 12 seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly reserved for refugees from Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir living in Pakistan.

Human rights groups have criticised the state response. Amnesty International said the proscription of JKJAAC under anti-terror laws was disproportionate and raised serious concerns over freedom of association and the use of sweeping security measures.

These figures should be treated as minimum confirmed numbers, because casualty counts have changed over time and access to some affected areas has been limited during shutdowns, internet suspensions and security operations.