Rangers naik dies of Rawalakot firing wounds as TTAP seeks talks
AJK Police says Naik Bostan Khan of Kohat, deployed with the Sindh Rangers at the force's request, died on Sunday, while TTAP and JAAC's advisory council demand probes and negotiations.
A Sindh Rangers naik who was injured in firing at an Azad Jammu and Kashmir police post in Rawalakot on 5 November died of his injuries on Sunday, the AJK Police said, as the opposition alliance Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Ain Pakistan demanded an end to the use of force and immediate talks with protesters.
The police spokesperson identified the dead man as Naik Bostan Khan, a resident of Kohat district serving with the Sindh Rangers, who had been deployed alongside AJK Police at its request to help maintain law and order. The police expressed grief over his death and said attacks on law enforcement personnel would not lower their morale, adding that those responsible would be brought to justice under the law.
In a statement issued on Monday, TTAP condemned what it called the use of state force against unarmed civilians in AJK, saying firing on unarmed people, the loss of life and the suppression of public demands were unacceptable. The alliance said the government had first opted to negotiate with the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee and later chose to suppress its movement instead of making progress on its demands. It said a high-level TTAP delegation travelling to AJK to meet protesters had been stopped at Kahuta and not allowed to proceed, and that the government had not explained the decision.
TTAP demanded that the bodies of those killed be handed to their families without delay, that transparent and impartial investigations be held into civilian deaths and the use of force, that the injured receive medical treatment and that arrested people have access to legal process. It also sought compensation for damage to public and private property and unrestricted access for political and social representatives to the affected areas.
The advisory council of the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee called for an immediate end to firing on civilians in Rawalakot and the surrounding areas, an independent investigation and negotiations between the government and the committee. It asked for the return of bodies to families, treatment for the injured, restoration of mobile and internet services and a verified list of detainees with their places of detention and legal status. The council proposed an unarmed joint delegation of political leaders, lawyers, civil society representatives, journalists and human rights activists to visit Rawalakot and issue a preliminary public report within 48 hours, and proposed that the government and JAAC name authorised delegations and meet within 24 hours at a mutually acceptable neutral venue.
The unrest follows a long campaign by JAAC for constitutional and governance changes in AJK, including the abolition of 12 refugee-reserved seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly, an end to privileges for the political elite and changes to the quota system. The AJK government proscribed the committee on 6 June, ahead of a planned march and protest on 9 June, saying 35 of its 38 demands had been accepted or implemented. On 11 June the government reinstated 177 FIRs against JAAC members, withdrawing concessions made under an agreement of 4 October 2025. Clashes in Rawalakot in July caused casualties and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan called for an independent investigation. The PML-N formed the AJK government in August after winning a majority, with Barrister Syed Iftikhar Ali Gilani as prime minister. The Express Tribune said it could not independently verify the claims.
How the reports differ
All three reports led on the TTAP statement. The Express Tribune alone reported that Naik Bostan Khan died on Sunday, and it alone carried the sequence of events since June: the proscription of JAAC, the reinstatement of 177 FIRs, the July clashes, the HRCP's call for an investigation and the August formation of the PML-N government. Minute Mirror condensed the same statements and did not carry that background, and its copy also contained a passage on a separate FIA inquiry concerning Maulana Asad Mahmood. The Express Tribune stated that it could not independently verify the claims made in the statements.
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