Four police personnel martyred, over 20 injured in Rawalakot firing: AJK police

Four law enforcement personnel were martyred, and more than 20 others were injured in a firing in Rawalakot on Sunday, the Inspector General of Police of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) said in a statement.

According to the statement, armed elements linked to a proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) opened fire on law enforcement officers deployed in the area during what was described as a planned attack.

The police chief strongly condemned the incident, calling it a “coordinated, armed and terrorist act” aimed at undermining public order and targeting state institutions.

“Direct firing on law enforcement personnel, martyrdoms, gunshot injuries, and later the attack on CMH Rawalakot is clear terrorism. The legal outcome of this attack will be inevitable, evidence-based and strictly in accordance with the Constitution and law. No armed group will be allowed to hold the peace, safety of citizens and state order hostage,” the statement said.

Read: AJK govt bans Joint Awami Action Committee as tensions rise ahead of June 9 protest call

The statement further added that the incident was not a peaceful protest but a “planned and armed terrorist action” aimed at state institutions and public safety.

AJK police said that the deceased personnel were “martyred in the line of duty” and paid tribute to their sacrifice, adding that the force stood with the families of the victims.

It added that all necessary arrangements were being made for the treatment of the injured personnel.

According to the statement, the administration and police would not compromise on public order, state authority and citizen safety, and that legal action would follow.

Separately, JAAC, in a post on X, said, “Blind firing by the forces and shells are being lobbed in Rawalakot. Shells are being lobbed at CMH, but people are not ready to move from their places.”

It added, “Today, when tear gas and bullets rained down on the resolute people sitting in the sit-in, instead of fleeing, they became even more steadfast. The skies of Rawalakot echoed not with fear, but with chants of revolution. Salutes to that courage, that determination, and that fearlessness.”

The region witnessed one of its most turbulent periods in October last year when protests led by the JAAC erupted over demands for constitutional and governance reforms. At least nine people, including three policemen, were killed during the unrest.

The JAAC, which organised the protests and strike, had presented a wide-ranging charter of demands, including an end to the privileges enjoyed by the ruling elite, the abolition of 12 assembly seats reserved for refugees, and the scrapping of the quota system.

Two days after the violence, the government and the JAAC reached an agreement covering 12 core and 13 additional points. Under the accord, both sides agreed to constitute a high-level committee to examine the issue of refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly.

The unrest also triggered political upheaval in the region. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) subsequently moved a no-confidence resolution against then prime minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) joining the effort. Haq, who had been elected in April 2023 with 48 votes, chose to face the vote rather than resign.

On Nov 17, Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore secured 36 votes in the election and became the 16th prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

With elections now approaching and the refugee seat issue still unresolved, the AJK government convened an All Parties Conference (APC) in Muzaffarabad to build consensus. Almost every major party attended — except PTI and the JAAC, who boycotted it.

The JAAC's position is that the government had already rejected its written proposals submitted on May 30, so attending would be futile. It had proposed either keeping symbolic refugee representation until the Kashmir dispute is permanently resolved, or replacing the 12 assembly seats with 4 seats in the AJK Council — a body chaired by the Prime Minister, which it argued would better preserve the political dimension of the Kashmir cause.

The APC rejected any changes outside the constitutional and legislative framework, saying only the elected assembly could alter refugee seat arrangements. The JAAC called the resolution "a page and a half of utterly trivial lines" and accused participants of gathering to serve their own interests rather than the public's.

The JAAC called a major protest for June 9 in Muzaffarabad, with caravans converging from across the region.