Law enforcement agencies in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s Rawalakot are intensifying operations against armed groups responsible for attacks on security personnel, a senior police official announced on Wednesday. The armed militants have occupied various buildings throughout the city, escalating tensions amid ongoing electoral activities.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Khawar Ali Shaukat, speaking at a press conference in Rawalakot, highlighted that these groups are linked to the proscribed Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC). Violent confrontations involving JAAC supporters have recently erupted in the city, coinciding with the region’s general elections.
Notably, the AJK government declared JAAC a banned organization on June 5 under the Anti-Terrorism Act, accusing it of terrorist activities. This ban preceded the committee’s planned protest on June 9, which aimed to challenge the reservation of 12 AJK Assembly seats for refugees from Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) who migrated to Pakistan after 1947.
During the briefing, SSP Shaukat confirmed that armed factions continue to assault law enforcement personnel in various locations. He emphasized that no leniency would be extended to these disruptive elements. The ongoing operations have resulted in the martyrdom of at least one Rangers personnel, while several suspects have been detained and sophisticated weapons seized.
The police spokesperson condemned the attacks on security forces and state institutions as intolerable, stressing that state agencies have exercised considerable restraint. He warned that those targeting state entities would face stringent action. SSP Shaukat also revealed that the miscreants have connections beyond the region and accused anti-state actors of spreading harmful propaganda on social media platforms.
In a significant development, the federal government has labeled the violence linked to the banned JAAC as an effort to derail the electoral process and destabilize peace in AJK. State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry pledged full federal support to the AJK administration to suppress the agitators. Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad alongside Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, he asserted that the banned group’s campaign is not a genuine rights movement but an attempt to strip Kashmiris of their voting rights and disrupt democracy.
The first phase of the AJK elections took place on July 27, with polling conducted across 13 constituencies in Mirpur, Kotli, and Bhimber districts. Unofficial and provisional results indicate a victory for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which secured nine seats, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) won four.
