The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government on Tuesday reiterated that an operation against the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) was becoming unavoidable after a shootout in Rawalakot martyred one Rangers official and injured another.
Earlier, AJK Police issued a statement saying armed men, allegedly affiliated with the JAAC, had opened fire near a bus terminal in Rawalakot. It said that the firing had continued after police tried to control the law and order situation, adding Rangers personnel were subsequently deployed to assist police.
The armed assailants, read the statement, had then opened direct fire on the security forces, martyring one Rangers personnel and injuring another.
In a joint press conference with Education Secretary Qazi Inayat, AJK Home Secretary Chaudhry Guftar Hussain said authorities had launched a clearance operation after the attack, emphasizing a full-fledged operation against the JAAC had become unavoidable to restore peace in the region.
Hussain accused the JAAC of disrupting peace and normal life across the region for the past 38 days under the guise of a rights movement. He alleged the banned group was using intimidation and blackmail to advance an anti-Pakistan agenda to malign the Pakistan Armed Forces.
Alleging traders were threatened to shutter their businesses, the home secretary reiterated that students, women, and children were being used as human shields during demonstrations. Maintaining that life had returned to normal in most areas, he stressed that government institutions were ready to respond to all forms of intimidation and disorder in accordance with law.
Hussain noted that one of the JAAC leaders, Khawaja Mehran, had issued a 48-hour deadline to block all entry points into AJK, adding similar threats had failed in the past. “The use of sophisticated automatic weapons and improvised explosive devices contradicts the banned committee’s claim of pursuing peaceful protests,” he said, referring to the morning’s shootout. “It makes a decisive operation unavoidable to free the public from armed miscreants,” he emphasized.
The home secretary said law enforcement personnel were conducting a clearance operation at Baloch Bazaar to reopen the Kotli-Tarar Khal Road and other major highways, adding this would continue until all roads were secured, public safety restored, and the supply of essential commodities ensured.
The education secretary, meanwhile, claimed the JAAC was resorting to using human shields after seeing its public support decline. “Involving children and students in protests endangers their lives and amounts to sacrificing the future of the younger generation for political purposes,” he said, adding all educational institutions in Rawalakot had been directed to keep students away from protests.
Inayat warned of the “serious” risk of students in school uniforms being used as human shields during future demonstrations, adding legal action would be taken against any institution or administration that does not act to bar students from participating in protests. “Schools and colleges, not protest camps, are the rightful place for students,” he added.
Both officials urged the people of Rawalakot to reject disruptive elements and cooperate with the state so that businesses, transport services and educational institutions could return to normal.
Mounting Toll
Clashes in Poonch on Tuesday resulted in the martyrdom of at least two law enforcers and the deaths of seven members of the JAAC. Apart from the clash in Rawalakot, which resulted in the loss of one Rangers personnel and one protester, another incident occurred in the Baloch tehsil of Sudhnoti district after protesters sought to prevent a convoy of law enforcers from reaching Trarkhal.
In the second incident, according to the Poonch administration, hundreds of protesters—some armed—pelted the convoy with stones, resulting in violent clashes. The skirmish caused the martyrdom of one policeman and the deaths of at least seven protesters.
A statement issued by AJK Police said law enforcers had launched a clearance operation to end blockades on the Kotli-Trarkhal highway and restore the movement of traffic and supplies when “armed groups of the proscribed JAAC opened unprovoked and indiscriminate fire on security personnel.” It confirmed the death of one police constable and the injuries of around eight other law enforcers and two Public Works Department employees.
The statement stressed the situation was now under control, adding operations to clear blocked routes would continue to ensure the uninterrupted movement of traffic and essential supplies.
The JAAC has announced it would resume its “long march” toward Muzaffarabad today (July 15).