- JAAC member connected to Afghanistan arms dealer: minister.
- Says govt’s decision to ban JAAC based on available evidence.
- Political class members involved in terror-crime network: minister.
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry on Wednesday said that authorities had uncovered a terror-crime network linked to the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), claiming the group was receiving arms from Afghanistan.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the minister said that the “network was captured” during an intelligence-based operation (IBO), which began with tracing and arresting a person named Zia.
The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government on June 5 declared JAAC a proscribed organisation under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), alleging the group was involved in terrorism.
Recalling the decision to ban the group, Chaudhry said that the federal government made the move based on available evidence.
The minister then played previous news reports about the violence carried out by the banned JAAC, saying critics also raised questions over the media reports.
Providing details of the IBO, Chaudhry said that Zia — a resident of AJK — had been “working as a weapons dealer for various people for the past eight to 10 years”.
He said that Zia had been supplying weapons to the closest members of JAAC for the past two years.
“Zia was in contact with Majid, who is a close associate of Sardar Aman, an important and active member of [banned] JAAC,” he added.
The minister then played a phone call between Zia and Majid, during which the two purportedly discussed the types and supply of weapons.
“Zia is connected to a man named Zarshad, who transports arms to Bara [in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa] from Afghanistan,” he said, while playing a phone call between the two men, in which they are discussing the supply of assault rifles and bullets.
According to Chaudhry, a government employee also facilitated the transportation of arms to the region, while the minister alleged that members of the political class were involved in the terror-crime network.
At the start of his press conference, Chaudhry said approximately 200 IBOs were being conducted every day, adding that Afghan soil was being used in the terrorism taking place in Pakistan.
Chaudhry described Afghanistan as a “super proxy”, saying Pakistan’s eastern neighbour sponsored the terrorists, while its western neighbour carried out terrorism.
