AJK Home Secretary Chaudhry Guftar Hussain addresses a press conference along with Primary and Secondary Education Secretary Qazi Inayat in Mirpur on Tuesday. SCREEN CAPTURE
The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government on Tuesday insisted that an operation against the banned Jammu and Kashmir Awami Action Committee (JAAC) had become inevitable after an attack on security forces and civilians in Rawalakot left one Rangers officer martyred and another injured.
Sources said armed groups affiliated with the banned JAAC opened fire in a civilian area near Matial Maira bus terminal in Rawalakot on Tuesday morning. The attackers also fired automatic weapons at the police officers when they approached to control the law and order situation following the attack.
Sources said Rangers personnel reached the spot to help police restore law and order. However, the armed assailants not only opened direct fire on them but also used improvised explosive devices (IEDs). As a result, ranger Naik Imtiyaz Ali was martyred while another official was injured.
Read: Rangers personnel martyred in Rawalakot attack by banned JAAC armed groups
Later, addressing a joint press conference along with AJK Education Secretary and Home Secretary Chaudhry Guftar Hussain, he said authorities had launched a clean-up operation after the attack, adding that a full-fledged operation against armed groups had become inevitable to restore peace in AJK.
The Home Minister said the banned JAAC had disrupted peace and normal life across the region for the last 38 days under the guise of a human rights movement, while using intimidation and blackmail to promote an anti-Pakistan agenda aimed at defaming the Pakistan Armed Forces.
He alleged that traders had been threatened with closing their markets, while students, women and children were used as human shields and young people were expelled from classrooms and forced to participate in protest politics.
Hussain said normal life had been restored in most areas, educational institutions had resumed operations and government institutions were fully mobilized to respond to all forms of intimidation and disorder in accordance with the law.
The Home Minister told the media that Khawaja Mehran, identified as the leader of the banned organisation, had given a deadline of 48 hours to block all entry points into AJK. He added that similar threats had failed in the past, as people had distanced themselves from the banned group.
“The use of sophisticated automatic weapons and improvised explosive devices contradicts the committee’s claim banned from carrying out peaceful protests,” he stated. “It makes inevitable a decisive operation to rid the public of armed miscreants.”
Hussain said law enforcement personnel were carrying out a clearing operation in Baloch Bazaar to reopen the Kotli-Tarar Khal road and other important roads. The operation would continue until all roads were secured, public safety was restored, and the supply of essential commodities was fully guaranteed.
Read also: Former JAAC member urges leaders to withdraw Rawalakot long march and sit-in
At the same press conference, primary and secondary education secretary Qazi Inayat said that after losing public support and seeing its own leaders distance themselves, the banned JAAC had adopted a new strategy of placing women, children and students at the forefront of protests as human shields.
“Involving children and students in protests endangers their lives and amounts to sacrificing the future of the younger generation for political reasons,” he said.
Inayat added that the department had directed all educational institutions in Rawalakot to keep students away from all protest activities.
He warned there was a serious risk that students in school uniforms could be used as human shields during demonstrations. He added that educational institutions were instructed to closely monitor the attendance and movement of students and immediately inform parents if such a situation arose.
The Interior Minister warned that legal action would be taken against any institution or administration that violated official directives or allowed students to participate in protests.
“Schools and universities, not protest camps, are the right place for students,” he added.
Both officials stressed that public and private institutions were functioning normally and medical colleges and other colleges had reopened in Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Kotli and other areas. They added that they had also started summer camps for board classes in Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Kotli, Leepa and Kel.
They urged the people of Rawalakot to reject the disruptive elements and cooperate with the State so that businesses, transport services and educational institutions can return to normal.
