Rawalakot | Pakistan

• Curfew-like restrictions eased • Commercial activity takes a hit as internet outages affect ATMs • AJK Legislative Assembly to meet today MUZAFFARABAD: The standoff between law enforcement personnel and supporters of the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) in Rawalakot seemed to be winding down, with officials claiming on Monday that the days-long protest had visibly shrink. According to officials, who spo­ke to Dawn on condition of anony­mity, the central gathering at the Eidgah Ground is steadily shrinking, with most participants from other areas having quietly left. The majority of those still present are residents of nearby localities who arrive in the afternoon and return home late at night, an official said. The official maintained that law enforcement personnel had only engaged armed activists, and ruled out the possibility of negotiations with the proscribed group, stating that its members would either have to surrender or face strict legal action. Authorities have relaxed curfew-like res...

Several security personnel were injured after unidentified individuals allegedly linked to the banned Joint Action Committee opened fire on law enforcement officials in Rawalakot, according to security sources.

Four security personnel were martyred and three members of the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) were killed during violent unrest in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), as law enforcement agencies cleared the siege of Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Rawalakot, police said on Monday.

MUZAFFARABAD: At least seven civilians were killed during Sunday’s clash between police and the newly proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) protesters in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s (AJK) Rawalakot, an official told Dawn on Monday. Poonch Commissioner Sardar Waheed Khan confirmed the civilian death toll to Dawn a day after the clash in which four law enforcement personnel were martyred. The commissioner and AJK Inspector General (IG) Liaqat Ali Malik also told Dawn 30 people had been taken into custody late on Sunday. The officials also said that 23 policemen were injured during the clash. The clash broke out after tensions flared over the death of a trader, who was allegedly shot during a confrontation with law enforcers on Friday night. Officials have accused the demonstrators of attacking the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Rawalakot on Sunday. Initially, his family had ann­ounced his funeral would be held on Saturday, but they later changed their mind and brought the body back to CMH, apparently...

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) police claimed on Thursday that they had arrested a suspected agent of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Rawalakot, who had been blackmailed into working for the foreign intelligence agency. According to AJK Inspector General of Police (IGP) Liaqat Ali Malik, one suspect had been arrested who had allegedly been blackmailed into working for RAW. His handler, whom Malik said used a Facebook account with an address in Lahore, blackmailed him by initially assigning “small tasks” — beginning with commonplace activities and later involving geotagging, sharing coordinates, and recording videos of “sensitive” sites, including military installations, schools, bridges and other government buildings in AJK and elsewhere in Pakistan. “This time, the AJK police worked with sensitive institutions to take pre-emptive action and exposed this whole network,” Malik said, adding that the enemy forces had “trapped” innocent young people while causing damage to life and property. According t...