Mushtaq Ahmad freed after alleged detention near AJK border
Former Jamaat-e-Islami senator Mushtaq Ahmad has been released after his team alleged that he was held for more than 24 hours while travelling toward Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
His team claimed that security personnel stopped him before he could enter AJK and later took him into custody while he was returning toward Islamabad.
The former senator’s release was announced through a statement posted on his official X account
الحمدللہ! سینیٹر مشتاق احمد خان رہا کر دیے گئے
— Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan | سینیٹر مشتاق احمد خان (@SenatorMushtaq) July 30, 2026
غیر قانونی حراست کے بعد سینیٹر مشتاق احمد خان آج عوام اور میڈیا سے اہم گفتگو کریں گے۔
اہم پریس کانفرنس
📅 30 جولائی 2026
🕑 دوپہر 2:00 بجے
📍 پاکستان رائٹس موومنٹ مرکزی سیکریٹریٹ، ایف ٹین مرکز اسلام آباد pic.twitter.com/TStRt89rm8
“Praise be to Allah! Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan has been released.”
The statement said Ahmad had been kept in “illegal detention” and would speak to the public and media at a press conference in Islamabad.
The reported detention came as tensions were rising in AJK following clashes between law enforcement personnel and protesters associated with the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee.
What happened during Ahmad’s journey?
According to an earlier statement from Ahmad’s team, the former senator travelled toward AJK carrying white flags.
The statement said he wanted to express solidarity with Kashmiris who had lost family members during violence involving security forces.
Ahmad was reportedly stopped at Azad Pattan Bridge and denied entry into AJK. His team said he then recorded a protest and started travelling back toward Islamabad.
The account later took a more serious turn when his vehicle was allegedly stopped at Kahuta Bazaar at around 7:07pm.
His team claimed that Punjab Police intercepted the vehicle and forcibly took Ahmad away.
The statement alleged that DSP Kahuta Circle Waqar took control of the vehicle by taking the steering wheel from the driver.
Other vehicles travelling with Ahmad were reportedly stopped for some time before being allowed to continue.
These claims were made by Ahmad’s team and have not been independently established as facts in the information provided.
Team says contact was lost
Ahmad’s team later tried to locate him after the alleged interception.
According to their statement, team members contacted Ahmad and asked him to share his live WhatsApp location.
The location reportedly showed that he had been taken to Rawat Police Station on the GT Road.
The team said its members went to the police station but were not allowed to meet him.
URGENT INCIDENT REPORT
— Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan | سینیٹر مشتاق احمد خان (@SenatorMushtaq) July 29, 2026
Islamabad | 29 July 2026
Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan Abducted and Taken to an Undisclosed Location While Travelling to AJK
On July 28, 2026, former Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan, accompanied by his team, set out for Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) carrying… pic.twitter.com/QrHTTdUOtE
The statement claimed that Ahmad’s last contact with his team came at 12:26 am on Wednesday.
During that conversation, he allegedly said police officials had told him that senior officials from Rawalpindi wanted to meet him.
The team later contacted the SHO of Rawat Police Station at about 1:20 am.
According to the statement, SHO Raja Iftikhar denied that Ahmad had been brought to the station and said he did not know where the former senator was.
Political reaction grows
The uncertainty surrounding Ahmad’s whereabouts quickly triggered reactions from opposition politicians and political groups.
The opposition alliance Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan shared a video of Ahmad’s activities in Kashmir and called for his release.
Release Senator Mushtaq pic.twitter.com/EbxpcrRXqg
— Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan (@TTAP_OFFICIAL) July 30, 2026
Former Sindh governor Mohammad Zubair also demanded his immediate release.
“He was stopped and taken into custody while returning from Azad Kashmir yesterday. We demand his immediate release and those responsible for this act must be exposed,” he said.
The whereabouts of Senator Mushtaq are still unknown after 24 hours. He was stopped and taken into custody while returning from Azad Kashmir yesterday. We demand his immediate release and those responsible for this act must be exposed
— Mohammad Zubair (@Real_MZubair) July 29, 2026
Former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar also condemned the reported detention.
He said Ahmad had been stopped at Kahuta Bazaar by Punjab Police while travelling back from AJK.
“His whereabouts remain unknown. This is a blatant violation of the law by a repressive regime where no citizen is safe from its authoritarian tactics,” Khokhar wrote on X.
Senator Mushtaq was stopped at Kahuta Bazaar by Punjab Police yesterday while returning from AJK and forcibly taken into custody. His whereabouts remain unknown. This is a blatant violation of the law by a repressive regime where no citizen is safe from its authoritarian tactics.
— Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar (@mustafa_nawazk) July 29, 2026
Political activist Ammar Ali Jan also criticised the incident and described it as “another criminal act of the current regime.”
He said Ahmad’s “only crime is demonstrating meaningful solidarity for Kashmiris who face repression.”
Calls for legal clarity
Ahmad’s team described the incident as a “forced disappearance in broad daylight” and raised questions about the legal basis for the reported detention.
The statement alleged that “no arrest warrant, formal charge or legal justification was presented” to the people accompanying Ahmad.
It also demanded information about his location, physical condition and the authority responsible for holding him.
The team called on the federal and Punjab governments to “immediately disclose Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan's location.”
It also demanded that authorities “guarantee his physical safety and access to his family and legal counsel” and “produce him before a competent court without delay.”
The team further called for the legal basis of the detention to be made public and demanded his release unless authorities formally charged him with a recognisable criminal offence through due process.
Ahmad’s release now removes the immediate uncertainty over his whereabouts, but questions surrounding the alleged detention remain.
AJK clashes add to tension
Ahmad’s journey came against the backdrop of renewed unrest in AJK.
Clashes between law enforcement personnel and protesters associated with the Joint Awami Action Committee have reportedly resulted in deaths and injuries.
Different sides have made claims about casualties, while videos and reports circulating on social media have added to public concern.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said it was “deeply alarmed” by reports of deaths and injuries.
The rights body stressed that maintaining public order “must never come at the expense of the right to life or the freedoms of peaceful assembly and expression.”
It also called for a “prompt, impartial and independent investigation” into the reported violence.
Political parties have also demanded an investigation into the clashes.
PTI called for an “immediate, independent, transparent and impartial judicial investigation,” while TTAP criticised what it described as “excessive force” against protesters.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman went further, describing the firing on civilians as “open terrorism.”
Why the AJK dispute matters
The latest unrest is linked to long-running political and governance disputes in AJK.
The region’s 53-member legislative assembly has 12 seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees who moved to Pakistan from Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in 1947 and 1965.
Six of these seats represent refugees from the Jammu division, while another six represent refugees from the Kashmir Valley.
The arrangement has been criticised by some groups, including the JAAC, which wants the reserved seats abolished.
The committee has also demanded changes to the quota system and an end to what it describes as privileges for the ruling elite.
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AJK experienced major unrest in October last year after the JAAC organised protests over constitutional and governance reforms.
At least nine people, including three police officers, were reported killed during that unrest.
The government and JAAC later reached an agreement covering 12 core demands and 13 additional points.
Under that agreement, a high-level committee was to examine the issue of refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly.
The issue, however, remains unresolved.
The JAAC continues to demand abolition of the reserved seats, while the government has rejected that demand.
The disagreement has kept political pressure alive and remains one of the issues behind the broader tensions in the region.
