MUZAFFARABAD: An elderly man was killed and four others were injured in a clash between workers of the ruling PPP and opposition PML-N in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Saturday, police and witnesses said.

The clash took place in Nakial — the hometown in Kotli district of former AJK premier and PML-N’s central vice president Sardar Sikandar Hayat — where PPP activists led by Food Minister Javed Iqbal Budhanvi were holding a ‘workers convention’.

The troubles began when one of the processions heading for the venue of the event was passing through Prawa Chowk, a stronghold of the PML-N.

The PML-N supporters at the place greeted the procession with “inflammatory slogans”, witnesses said. The PPP workers responded with similar slogans.

In the meantime, some workers of the two parties began throwing rocks at each other. The situation became so nasty that police were compelled to lob tear gas shells to disperse the two sides, police officials said.

At the time, AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed had already reached the venue — the ground of an educational institution — and processions from different areas were arriving there.

Deputy Inspector General of Police for Mirpur region, Sardar Gulfraz Khan, identified the deceased as 65-year-old Chaud­hry Munshi. The PPP claimed Mr Munshi was its worker.

In his hard-hitting speech at the convention, Mr Majeed termed the killing “a brutal act of Mr Hayat” and vowed to bring the culprits to justice.

“The PML-N believes in politics of violence, hatred and friction,” he alleged. “On the other hand, we have been promoting a culture of democracy, tolerance and empathy.”

Later, Mr Majeed and other PPP leaders went to Naara village where they attended funeral of Chaud­hry Munshi and addressed a ‘condolence meeting’.

According to analysts, politics in Nakial, most of which straddles the Line of Control and is thus vulnerable to Indian shelling, revolves around clans, like many other parts of AJK.

The Gujjars of the area stand by Mr Budhanvi and Rajputs rally behind Mr Hayat.

Police later arrested 14 people on the basis of an FIR lodged by the relatives of the deceased.

According to a handout, Chief Secretary Mohammad Jalal Sikandar Sultan has asked the commissioner of Mirpur division to submit an inquiry report on the incident within 24 hours.

Ikram Junaidi adds from Islamabad: PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari accused PML-N workers of opening fire on PPP members and activists in Kotli.

In a statement, he alleged that it had become a norm for the PML-N to kill opposition leaders and workers, which “showed the dictatorial mindset of its leadership”. He asked the AJK government to submit a report on the matter as soon as possible.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2016