Islamabad, June 29, 2026: A high-level delegation of the Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Ayeen Pakistan (TTAP), led by National Assembly Opposition Leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai, was stopped by police on Monday while travelling to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to express solidarity with an ongoing sit-in in Rawalakot, according to the alliance’s spokesperson.
Earlier in the day, TTAP announced that its delegation would visit Rawalakot to support what it described as the legitimate public demands being raised during the sit-in organised by the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), saying the visit was aimed at upholding democratic freedoms, constitutional supremacy and public rights.
The delegation comprised Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, TTAP spokesperson Hussain Ahmad Yousafzai and Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry, legal counsel for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan.
According to TTAP, the delegation planned to meet JAAC leaders and address participants at the protest camp to express solidarity with the people of AJK.
However, the alliance later said police intercepted the delegation at Kahuta before it could enter AJK.
In a statement, the TTAP spokesperson said members of the delegation asked police under what legal authority they were being stopped. According to the spokesperson, police officers replied that they were acting on instructions from their senior officers and had been directed not to allow the delegation to proceed.
The alliance criticised the move, saying peaceful political activity and the right to express solidarity could not be curtailed through administrative measures. It alleged that preventing the delegation from continuing its journey without a written order or legal justification amounted to a violation of fundamental constitutional rights.
TTAP maintained that its members had been travelling peacefully and that stopping them from entering AJK amounted to an unjustified restriction on political freedoms.
The development comes amid heightened tensions in Rawalakot following deadly clashes linked to a sit-in organised by the JAAC outside the Combined Military Hospital.
According to AJK police, armed JAAC members launched a planned attack on law enforcement personnel, killing four police officials and injuring around 20 others. The JAAC has rejected the allegation, claiming that security forces used tear gas and shelling against protesters near the hospital.
Police said three individuals associated with the JAAC were also killed during the violence, while the committee claimed that seven protesters lost their lives and dozens were injured after security forces allegedly opened fire under the cover of darkness following a power outage.
The unrest has coincided with the announcement of elections for the 53-member Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, scheduled for July 27.
The JAAC has been leading a movement demanding constitutional and governance reforms, including the abolition of the 12 legislative assembly seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees, an end to privileges enjoyed by the ruling elite and the removal of the existing quota system.
Following violent protests last year, in which at least nine people, including three police personnel, were killed, the AJK government and the JAAC reached an agreement providing for the formation of a high-level committee to examine, among other issues, the future of the reserved refugee seats in the Legislative Assembly.
