What happened
Protests around Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s phased assembly elections turned deadly in late July, with the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) saying on 29 July that at least 31 of its supporters had been killed in a security crackdown, Arab News reported. JAAC raised its claimed toll from 25 a day earlier after clashes in Rawalakot on Monday and Mirpur on Tuesday overshadowed the first phase of the vote.
Official accounts were far lower. Poonch commissioner Sardar Waheed told the AFP news agency that at least one security man had been killed and three wounded since Monday evening. Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry later said one security official was martyred and five others injured, including an officer shot by a sniper, Dawn reported.
Government response
At press conferences in Islamabad and Muzaffarabad, federal and AJK officials accused what they called militant elements “pursuing a foreign agenda and backed by Indian funding” of fomenting the unrest. Information Minister Atta Tarar said the violence vindicated the decision to ban JAAC, calling it an “extremist group”. “This is no longer a protest movement,” Chaudhry said, adding that demonstrators would from then on be treated as “perpetrators” or “rioters” rather than protesters.
AJK police spokesperson Irfan Kashfi said a suspect had been arrested in Rawalakot with a military-grade weapon, and that initial information suggested he was a foreign national acting as a sniper. Officials said M-4 rifles, Kalashnikovs and sniper guns were recovered. Mobile and internet services remained suspended in Rawalakot, and reports said authorities had blocked entry and exit points to the town.
JAAC rejected the allegations, saying its movement was peaceful and aimed at securing fundamental rights. It has been camped for weeks demanding the abolition of 12 legislative seats reserved for refugees from Indian-administered Kashmir.
The election and the reaction
Voting began on Monday and is being held in phases through 10 August. The Reuters news agency reported that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz won nine of the 13 seats contested in the first phase, in the districts of Mirpur, Kotli and Bhimber.
Opposition parties and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan called for an impartial and independent investigation into the reports of deaths and injuries. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf rejected the election as “a fraud”, condemned the violence and demanded a judicial inquiry, the cancellation of the remaining two phases scheduled for 2 and 10 August, and the resignation of the AJK government, The Express Tribune reported.
What is still uncertain
The two sides give sharply different accounts of the death toll and of who opened fire first, and neither claim has been independently verified. The remaining phases of the election and the future of the protest encampment remain open.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a summary of published reporting, not independent reporting. Details are as carried by the cited sources, which were reviewed on 30 July 2026.
- Arab News Pakistan — "Outlawed Azad Kashmir group says 31 protesters killed in crackdown as vote unrest deepens"29 July 2026 · JAAC's claimed death toll, its account of the shooting and the government's response.
- Dawn — "'Militant elements' behind unrest in AJK: govt"29 July 2026 · The official casualty figures, the weapons recovered and the government's statements.
- The Express Tribune — "PTI seeks judicial inquiry into Rawalakot violence, rejects AJK polls"29 July 2026 · PTI's rejection of the election and its demands.
- Reuters — "Pakistan-administered Kashmir vote marred by deadly clashes"29 July 2026 · First-phase results and the dispute over the vote.
