Islamabad: Pakistan’s Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry on Sunday alleged that investigators had uncovered an illegal network supplying weapons from Afghanistan to Pakistan-administered Kashmir, as he presented what he described as forensic evidence linking protest-related violence to organised criminal activity.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Chaudhry presented audio recordings and video clips which he said had been subjected to forensic examination. He alleged that individuals connected with the protest movement had links with people involved in the illegal movement of weapons. The recordings, videos and the government’s interpretation of them could not be independently verified.
The minister said the investigation began with the arrest of a man accused of obtaining weapons from Afghanistan and transporting them through Pakistan’s tribal areas into Pakistan-administered Kashmir over several years. According to Chaudhry, that arrest led investigators to three more suspects and eventually to people allegedly maintaining contacts with prominent figures associated with the Action Committee.
Three more arrests announced
Chaudhry announced the arrest of three additional individuals, naming them as Waqar Hameed, Muhammad Ali and Ammar Sohail. A recorded statement by Waqar Hameed was played at the press conference, in which he claimed to have been associated with the Action Committee for three years and to have remained in contact with senior leaders. In the statement, he alleged that he and armed associates participated in sit-ins and activities on the instructions of committee leaders.
The minister also alleged that a government employee facilitated the movement of illegal weapons and that attempts were subsequently made to portray one of the suspects as mentally unfit to protect him from prosecution, including efforts to obtain medical certificates carrying earlier dates.
Chaudhry said force had not been initiated by security personnel and claimed that evidence, including footage of sniper rifles and automatic weapons, had already been shared with the media. He questioned why violent protests emerged on election days, and referring to the Mirpur election phase, said large numbers of people had participated in voting before violent incidents occurred.
He also played a clip from a speech by Sardar Aman and sought to draw a connection between the timing of protests in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and political agitation by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, arguing that similarities in protest dates and activities required investigation.
The minister stated that the protest movement originally began with 38 demands, of which 37 had been accepted, with some fully implemented and work continuing on others. He said the continued protests were affecting schools, businesses, shops and daily life.
These allegations have not been established before a court. The JAAC has previously rejected government attempts to link its movement with militancy or illegal weapons, maintaining that its campaign is a political and civil-rights movement, and has challenged the authorities to produce evidence of criminal activity before a competent court.