- Armed men opened fire near the town of Matial Maira.
- Rangers rushed in after police called for backup.
- A Ranger personnel member was also injured during the exchange of gunfire.
RAWALAKOT: One Rangers personnel was martyred and another was injured after armed members belonging to the banned Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) attacked security forces in response to reports of indiscriminate firing near Matial Maira bus terminal in Rawalakot, security sources said on Tuesday.
According to sources, armed groups belonging to the banned JAAC opened indiscriminate fire in a civilian area near the Matial Maira bus terminal early in the morning.
AJK Police said the illegal organisation, having failed to mobilize public support in recent weeks, resorted to dismissal in an attempt to shift the blame to the security forces. The incident was captured on aerial surveillance, police said.
When the police, accompanied by security forces, acted to restore law and order, they were attacked by armed assailants.
Ranger personnel deployed to support the police also reached the scene, where one Ranger officer embraced martyrdom and another was injured in the exchange of fire.
AJK Police further confirmed that explosives were also used during the violence. He said an operation was underway to clear the area of armed JAAC members and protesters, alleging that local residents had been taken hostage at gunpoint.
Police described the day’s events as evidence of the banned organisation’s violent conduct and said its armed members had resorted to lawless tactics during the attack.
On June 5, the AJK government declared JAAC a proscribed organization under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), saying the group was involved in terrorism.
The ban was imposed days before the banned group’s planned protest on June 9 seeking the abolition of 12 seats in the AJK reserved for refugees from Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) who migrated to Pakistan after 1947.
