Pakistan Rangers Vs PoK Local Police: The Rift Within Security Forces Amid Crackdown On JAAC | Exclusive
Pakistan Rangers Vs PoK Local Police: The Rift Within Security Forces Amid Crackdown On JAAC | Exclusive Reported By, Last Updated: July 10, 2026, 16:44
Pakistan Rangers Vs PoK Local Police: The Rift Within Security Forces Amid Crackdown On JAAC | Exclusive Reported By, Last Updated: July 10, 2026, 16:44 IST According to the sources, a major trust deficit has developed between the local PoK police and the federal Pakistan Rangers, affecting joint security operations across the region Rapid Read Supporters of the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) gather as they shout slogans during a week-long protest in Rawalakot. (File pic/AFP) A widening rift has emerged between local police in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan’s federal security establishment, with intelligence intercepts suggesting growing resistance within the local force against orders issued by the Pakistan Rangers amid the ongoing crackdown on the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), top intelligence sources told CNN-News18. According to the sources, a major trust deficit has developed between the local PoK police and the federal Pakistan Rangers, severely affecting joint security operations across the region. Intelligence inputs indicate that local police personnel have increasingly resisted orders to act as frontline forces or human shields for Pakistan Rangers during security operations, resulting in what sources described as a near-complete breakdown of coordinated tactical operations. Sources further said that lower and mid-level police personnel have been reluctant to aggressively enforce the crackdown as many of their own families have been affected by soaring inflation, unemployment and food shortages in the region.
According to intelligence assessments, the resistance has largely taken the form of passive non-cooperation rather than open defiance. Sources claimed that internal reports suggest some local police personnel have allegedly leaked Pakistan Rangers’ movement schedules and drone surveillance blind spots to JAAC organisers, undermining federal security operations. Agencies have also tracked what they describe as a sharp increase in internal surveillance by Pakistan’s Intelligence Bureau. According to the sources, Islamabad has allegedly placed senior PoK police officials and bureaucrats under electronic surveillance, reflecting growing concerns within Pakistan’s security establishment over the possibility of a wider law enforcement mutiny. ISI UNDER PRESSURE The intelligence sources further claimed that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has used the increased deployment of the Pakistan Rangers and Frontier Corps under the stated objective of maintaining law and order, while simultaneously reorganising terrorist launchpad infrastructure along sensitive sectors. According to the sources, the ISI has allegedly begun mixing terrorist cadres with civilian populations in parts of the Neelum Valley to reduce the risk of local resistance and avoid drawing attention to their movements. Sources said the ISI has traditionally relied on local police units for peripheral security, traffic management and administrative support during protests, while also securing areas where, according to Indian intelligence assessments, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed-linked infrastructure operates under the cover of youth camps and welfare centres.
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