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The ban may remove JAAC from the formal political arena, but it cannot remove the grievances that brought it into existence.
An aerial view of Muzaffarabad, the capital and largest city in Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir.
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) is currently in the midst of a rapidly unfolding political crisis. As a territory-wide wheel-jam strike called by the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) gets underway, internet and mobile data services have been suspended in several areas, examinations postponed, and additional Pakistani security forces deployed across multiple districts.
These developments come days after the AJK government designated JAAC a proscribed organization under anti-terrorism legislation, coinciding with the opening of nomination filings for legislative elections expected to be held on July 27.
