Pakistan busts arms-smuggling network supplying proscribed JAAC in Kashmir
By The South Asia Times
ISLAMABAD - Pakistani authorities have arrested an operative allegedly linked to an illegal arms-smuggling network operating from Afghanistan and supplying weapons to a proscribed group in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), the Ministry of Interior said.
The ministry said the intelligence-based operation uncovered an arms network operating by Afghan national Zarshad, from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, which allegedly transported weapons into Pakistan through the Tirah and Bara areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to the ministry, the weapons were supplied to Zia, whom authorities identified as an operative of the proscribed JAAC in AJK.
The ministry said Zia is a close associate of JAAC leaders Sardar Aman and Khwaja Mehran and had allegedly been managing illegal weapons supplies for about two years.
The Interior Ministry said evidence gathered during the operation indicated that the proscribed JAAC had links to external networks and alleged that the group was receiving financial support for destabilizing activities in AJK.
Authorities further said that the operation had uncovered links between the arms-smuggling network and Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, accusing the Afghan administration of providing safe haven to militants and facilitating what Islamabad described as a “terror-crime nexus” extending beyond Pakistan.
The arrests and allegations come amid continuing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan over militant activity, as Islamabad said that terrorist groups, including TTP, operating from Afghan territory are carrying out attacks inside Pakistan.
Pakistani authorities said the latest operation demonstrated the need for stronger action against cross-border arms trafficking and militant networks
