In a significant development early Tuesday morning, armed militants affiliated with the banned Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) launched an attack near the Matial Maira bus terminal in Rawalakot. The assault targeted security forces who had responded to reports of indiscriminate firing in the civilian area.
Security officials confirmed that the JAAC militants opened fire recklessly, endangering local residents. The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Police noted that the outlawed group, struggling to garner public support in recent weeks, appeared to have initiated the violence in an effort to deflect blame onto security personnel. The entire incident was documented via aerial surveillance.
As police, accompanied by security forces, moved in to restore order, they were met with gunfire from the assailants. Rangers personnel deployed to assist the police arrived at the scene, where one Rangers official was martyred and another sustained injuries during the ensuing exchange of fire. Authorities also confirmed the use of explosives during the confrontation.
An ongoing operation aims to clear the area of remaining armed JAAC members and protesters, with reports indicating that local residents were held hostage at gunpoint during the violence. Police described the day’s events as clear evidence of the banned organisation’s violent tactics and anarchic behavior.
Notably, the AJK government had declared JAAC a proscribed organisation under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) on June 5, citing its involvement in terrorist activities. This ban was imposed just days before JAAC’s planned protest on June 9, which sought to challenge the existence of 12 seats in the AJK assembly reserved for refugees from Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) who migrated to Pakistan after 1947.
