A Rangers personnel was martyred and another sustained injuries when armed men opened fire on law enforcement personnel during a road clearance operation from Sarsawa to Tararkhel, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) police spokesperson said on Wednesday.

According to the spokesperson, Rangers personnel came under fire while carrying out the operation to remove blockades and restore transportation routes. Rangers personnel Shahnawaz was martyred after sustaining a bullet wound to the chest, while Lance Naik Bilal was injured after being shot in the shoulder. The spokesperson added that Shahnawaz belonged to Khairpur, Sindh.

A similar attack took place last month when a Rangers personnel was martyred and another injured after armed members of the banned Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) attacked security forces responding to reports of indiscriminate firing near the Matial Maira bus terminal in Rawalakot, according to security sources. The clearance operation is continuing to remove blockades at various locations and restore traffic routes.

Despite the firing on law enforcement personnel, authorities are continuing the operation. The AJK police spokesperson said the operation would continue until all obstacles were removed and transportation routes were fully restored.

The AJK government on June 5 declared JAAC a proscribed organisation under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), stating that the group was engaged in terrorism. The ban was imposed days ahead of the banned outfit's planned protest seeking the abolition of 12 seats in the AJK assembly reserved for refugees from Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) who migrated to Pakistan after 1947.