RAWALAKOT: Rawalakot clashes killed Rangers Sepoy Ali Raza and injured three police officers Monday night as supporters of the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee tried to enter the city, police said.
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Police said protesters opened fire after law enforcement personnel stopped their march and repeatedly asked them to disperse peacefully.
Armed protesters later attacked a security checkpoint on Rawalakot’s outskirts, killing Raza, according to the official account carried by Radio Pakistan.
Police said the violence initially injured two officers. A subsequent attack raised the number of wounded police personnel to three.
Protesters also set fire to one Rangers vehicle and one police vehicle, the statement said. Authorities vowed to identify and prosecute those involved in the firing, arson and property damage.
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JAAC presented a sharply different account. The organisation accused security forces of using lethal force against protesters and claimed that nine people had died, according to The Express Tribune. Independent sources had not verified that figure.
The confrontation occurred as AJK held the first phase of its Legislative Assembly elections in 13 constituencies across Mirpur Division. JAAC had called for an election boycott.
Authorities banned JAAC under anti-terrorism laws in June after earlier deadly clashes. The organisation has campaigned for governance reforms and the abolition of 12 assembly seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees living elsewhere in Pakistan.
