AJK information secretary says 7 law enforcement personnel martyred in recent unrest

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Information Secretary Muhammad Rashid Hanif on Monday said that seven law enforcement personnel, including those of police and Rangers, were martyred during recent unrest in the region.

The now-proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), which has been demanding the abolishment of 12 seats in the local legislature reserved for refugees from Indian-held Kashmir, has been holding protests in the region for several weeks now.

Clashes took place between protesters and law enforcement personnel in Rawalakot and Mirpur last week, which reportedly resulted in several casualties. Amid the tensions, elections are being held across the region in three phases, with those in Mirpur (July 27) and Muzaffarabad divisions (Aug 2) marred by rigging allegations by the PPP.

In a televised address on Monday, Hanif recalled a press conference held on July 27 where a police official presented weapons allegedly recovered from JAAC members.

Hanif said that seven personnel were martyred from the “same weapons”, while 45 personnel suffered serious injuries and “numerous” others sustained minor injuries. He further said that police and Rangers vehicles were also burned.

“This confirms that the blacklisted JAAC is sheltering a large number of armed elements and is attempting to undermine peace and the writ of the state,” the information secretary asserted.

Addressing allegations by JAAC regarding incidents in Rawalakot and surrounding areas between July 27 and July 31, he said they were not only false but “part of a misinformation and propaganda campaign”, which in itself was part of a broader effort to “undermine public order and the writ of the state”.

He went on to stress that “security institutions of the AJK government have demonstrated the utmost restraint and professionalism while maintaining law and order”.

The information secretary rejected allegations of unprovoked firing by security forces and withholding bodies, stating that the government had no bodies presently in its custody.

“Propaganda being circulated by this banned organisation on social media is misleading and part of an effort to further aggravate the situation,” he added, alleging that JAAC members were involved in blocking or burning vehicles carrying essential supplies and food.

Hanif also provided the casualty figures for law enforcement personnel resulting from JAAC’s “violent actions” in recent years, noting one police official was martyred in 2024 and three personnel in October 2025.

“Two armed operatives from this organisation recently admitted in their confession that they were promised Rs10 million to kill one Rangers personnel, which raises serious concerns about the source of this group’s funding,” the AJK official claimed.

AJK govt calls BBC report ‘biased’; Al Jazeera’s coverage termed ‘selective’

Hanif also termed a BBC report on the Rawalakot clashes as “angled, biased and contrary to the facts”, saying that the AJK government “rejected” it.

“The facts and figures presented in this report are not only incorrect, but they were published without verification or confirmation from the government, police or the civil administration,” he stated, describing the report as “contrary to the ethics of journalism and professionalism”.

Contending that videos and press releases from the AJK administration had provided evidence of JAAC possessing modern weapons, he noted that the BBC “should have at least taken the verified evidence into account and published a report based on facts”.

Similarly, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting criticised Al Jazeera’s coverage of the AJK elections, accusing the Qatar-based broadcaster of “selective reporting from handpicked polling stations” in Muzaffarabad.

In a post on X on Sunday night, the ministry alleged that the media outlet had “sought to misrepresent the AJK elections and the voting process” through “carefully chosen timings and scripted statements from selected individuals”.

“Such yellow journalism only confirms the agenda of external actors with vested interests who are attempting to delegitimise this electoral exercise and undermine the popular will of the people of Muzaffarabad and AJK,” it alleged.

The publication had reported that the residents of Muzaffarabad were observing a boycott of the polls following unrest in the region, where the proscribed JAAC has been protesting for several weeks.

Over the past two months, the regional administration and the JAAC have been at odds over various issues, most notably the committee’s demand to abolish the 12 seats in the region’s Legislative Assembly, which has resulted in protests across the region.

The government has accused militant elements “pu­r­­s­u­ing a foreign age­nda and backed by Indian funding” of fomenting the recent unrest in AJK.

On June 5, following the announcement of the JAAC’s June 9 strike, the AJK government declared the committee a proscribed organisation and placed it under the First Schedule of the region’s anti-terrorism act (ATA).

The next day, AJK authorities launched a crackdown on the JAAC, arresting scores of its leaders and later placing 147 of its activists on the Fourth Schedule of the ATA.

Last Wednesday, AJK police said that 26 personnel were martyred this year during incidents of unrest as they accused the proscribed JAAC of deliberately targeting law enforcement agencies.