MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government on Friday constituted a six-member fact-finding committee to probe the incident in which a mob attacked an international food chain franchise in the lakeside city of Mirpur and submit its report within 15 days.

Headed by senior minister Waqar Ahmed Noor, the committee includes cabinet members Chaudhry Qasim Majeed and Chaudhry Yasir Sultan, all hailing from Mirpur division, information secretary Ansar Yaqoob, deputy inspector general of Rangers and reserve police Dr Liaquat Ali and additional home secretary Surriya Khanum as members.

Ms Khanum would also act as secretary of the committee, which had been empowered to co-opt any other member, if required.

On March 29, a mob of around 250-300 people, chanting anti-Israel and pro-Palestine slogans, marched from a mosque to a street dotted with outlets of various Pakistani brands and some multinational fast-food franchises in Mirpur.

The fast-food restaurant franchise that was particularly targeted is owned by a local PML-N leader and former AJK minister Chaudhry Mohammad Saeed.

According to a notification issued by the services and general administration department here, the fact-finding committee would ascertain specific information about the threat to the property reportedly circulating on social media platforms prior to the attack.

In addition, it would find out that when the owner of the franchise had shared specific concern about possible attack on his property with the district administration a day before the actual incident, why was not that threat alert properly analysed and assessed, followed by due pre-emptive actions on the part of the concerned authorities.

Since a security order was also supposedly issued for handling such a situation, the committee would ferret out specific measures taken to ensure security of the property and handling of the mob.

The committee would also determine which official or authority was responsible for implementation of the security order, apart from digging out whether the security order was properly coordinated for implementation among the district administration, police and other relevant authorities.

The committee would also report about the level of supervisory coordination among the divisional heads of administration and police in Mirpur — the divisional commissioner and deputy inspector general of police.

It would identify the lapses in handling this incident at various levels and fix responsibilities.

Based on its findings, the committee would frame specific recommendations to address the lapses observed in handling such law and order situations in the future, the notification concluded.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2024