• At least one law enforcer martyred, protesting group claims several supporters killed as Rawalakot rocked by violent clashes
• Officials say sniper rifles among arms recovered from protesters
• JAAC protesters will now be considered ‘perpetrators’, says Talal
• People once trained as ‘Mujahideen’ are now protesting, claims Sanaullah
MUZAFFARABAD / ISLAMABAD: After fresh clashes between protesters and law enforcement personnel in Rawalakot on Monday and Mirpur on Tuesday, which reportedly resulted in several casualties, the government accused militant elements “pursuing a foreign agenda and backed by Indian funding” of fomenting the unrest.
Mobile and internet services remained suspended in Rawalakot on Tuesday, and reports suggested that authorities had blocked the entry and exit points to the town to avoid any further untoward incidents.
The 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.
On Tuesday, it alleged that dozens of its supporters were killed in clashes with security personnel, but there was no official confirmation of the claim from any quarters.
Poonch commissioner Sardar Waheed told the AFP news agency that at least one security man lost their life and three others wounded in clashes since Monday evening. Later, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said that one security official was martyred and five others were injured, including an official who was shot by a sniper.
Mr Waheed added that the standoff was continuing as protesters surrounded the outskirts of Rawalakot, with security personnel holding them back from entering the centre of the city.
Meanwhile, in separate press conferences, AJK officials and federal ministers maintained that arms had also been recovered from the violent elements, who had also resorted to firing at security forces.
“From day one, we have been saying that they are not peaceful protesters. This is a violent group. They are militants working on a foreign agenda and receiving Indian funding,” Information Minister Atta Tarar said.
Accompanied by Mr Chaudhry, the two assured the AJK government of the federal government’s full support in maintaining law and order and restoring peace in the region.
“Initially, they tried to stop the election schedule in AJK so that they could give the impression that the government, which talks about a referendum in Kashmir, wanted to rob them of their right to vote,” Chaudhry said.
When they failed, Chaudhry said, JAAC members started long marches, sit-ins, strikes, blocked roads and disrupted activities across the region.
“Their last desire was that the people of Mirpur would not come out to vote and would support them, but when people came out, and turnout increased at polling stations, why then did the unrest occur?” he questioned.
He also shared details of the weapons recovered from JAAC protesters, saying that American-made M-4 rifles, Kalashnikovs and sniper guns were recovered from them.
“What kind of protest is this? This cannot be a protest. This is something else in the guise of a protest — this is militancy,” Chaudhry said.
“This is not a protest movement anymore. The AJK protest has decided that it will be tackled differently.”
He said that, from now on, the protesters would be considered perpetrators.
“The state of AJK will use powers granted by law against those perpetrators, and to avoid this, we urge ordinary people to stay away from them,” Mr Chaudhry said.
Earlier in the day, AJK Information Secretary Muhammad Rashid Hanif had claimed that a significant number of protesters participating in the proscribed JAAC demonstration in AJK were affiliated with Fitna Al Khawarij, a term the state usually uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan outfit.
Addressing a press conference, Hanif said that illegal and violent activities had taken place in AJK aimed at disrupting the upcoming phases of elections in the region.
He also played a video as evidence, which showed masked gunmen on the roof of a building in the region.
Addressing the media after the information secretary, AJK police spokesperson and Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Irfan Kashfi said that such elements would be “handled in the same way that any terrorists or militants are handled”.
He added that one suspect had been arrested in Rawalakot, from whose possession a military-grade weapon was recovered. Citing initial information, Kashfi said the suspect was a foreign national who had been acting as a sniper.
Earlier, while sharing a video of several people carrying arms in AJK, Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore wrote on X: “They planned this for weeks and now they have got what they wanted: the blood of innocent Kashmiris.”
However, PM’s aide Rana Sanaullah advanced a peculiar argument during TV appearances on Tuesday night, claiming that the protesters were “the same people we once trained as Mujahideen and sent them to fight”.
“Since then they have become a burden for us... people from those organisations have now gathered there,” he said, referring to the JAAC protesters.
Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2026