Four Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred on Sunday after a vehicle of the army's quick reaction force fell into a ravine in Azad Jammu and Kashmir's Laswa area, according to an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement.

It said three other soldiers and a civilian driver were also injured when the vehicle — employed for the maintenance of law and order in support of the AJK general election 2021 — toppled over while taking a steep turn in Laswa and fell down a ravine.

"The injured have been evacuated to [a] nearby medical facility for necessary medical care," said the ISPR press release.

AJK Chief Election Commissioner retired Justice Abdul Rashid Sulehria had announced on July 10 that army and Rangers would be deployed to take care of security during the AJK general election in order to help the electorate exercise their right to vote in a fear-free atmosphere.

Later, AJK chief secretary Shakeel Qadir Khan said in a media briefing that 5,300 policemen from AJK, 12,000 from Punjab police, 10,000 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police, 1,000 from Islamabad police, 400 Frontier Constabulary personnel and 3,200 Rangers personnel had been requisitioned to maintain law and order.

They would be backed by six to seven thousand Pakistan Army personnel, he added.

The combined force of at least 43,500 personnel was said to be the heaviest deployment of troops in any AJK poll.