Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Police on Wednesday said that 26 personnel were martyred this year during incidents of unrest as they accused the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) of deliberately targeting law enforcement agencies (LEAs).
Addressing a press conference, AJK police spokesperson and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Riaz Mughal said that members of the proscribed JAAC were “martyring and injuring rangers and police personnel” in AJK.
“In 2026 only, 26 of our personnel were martyred, while 157 were seriously injured, and 629 faced minor injuries,” he said, without mentioning the specific incidents in which the casualties occurred.
“After this figure, how can you say that they are peaceful protesters?” the SSP asked.
The police spokesperson further said, “Our institutions don’t target anyone. We only target those who target our personnel.”
The statement follows unconfirmed reports of multiple casualties after armed clashes in Poonch district’s Rawalakot earlier this week.
“What is happening to police, rangers and other people? They (JAAC members) have held people captive and taken their IDs? Do people not see this?” the SSP said.
The spokesperson suggested that one should go to AJK and impartially witness the situation and the kind of people who were staging sit-ins there.
“They have snipers. They target people who are from our institutions and police,” he said, stressing how the JAAC supporters could be called peaceful people who did nothing.
SSP Mughal also presented weaponry allegedly recovered from the protesters during different operations. “They use this weapon against law enforcement people.”
The spokesperson emphasised that these were “anti-state” individuals who were carrying out “terrorist activities” under a plan.
Moreover, he claimed that 70 per cent of the protesters were “criminals”, including drug dealers who had taken shelter under the JAAC’s banner.
SSP Mughal emphasised that these were “anti-state” people.
‘JAAC working under an agenda’
Earlier in the day, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Khawar Ali Shaukat accused the JAAC of working under an “agenda”, saying that sophisticated weapons had been seized from arrested suspects.
Addressing a press conference, SSP Shaukat alleged that the incidents in Rawalakot had demonstrated that the organisation’s narrative of peaceful protest was inconsistent with events on the ground.
“The violent incidents, acts of provocation and attacks on security forces have made the reality clear,” he said, adding that it was the legal and constitutional responsibility of LEAs to act whenever police or other security personnel came under attack.
The SSP alleged that armed groups had ambushed officials at different locations across the city over the past two days and opened fire on security personnel with sophisticated weapons.
He said one Rangers official was martyred while around 15 police officers and other law enforcement personnel were injured in the attacks.
“This demonstrates that the proscribed group is working under an agenda, the purpose of which is to disrupt peace in AJK, disturb the social fabric and damage the atmosphere of brotherhood,” he said.
“The events of yesterday and today, the way our forces have been attacked with heavy and sophisticated weapons, show that these groups … this is not an ordinary organisation,” he said.
He said law enforcement agencies had arrested several suspects allegedly involved in the violence and recovered a large cache of arms, including heavy weapons.
“An automatic American weapon was also recovered,” he said, adding that this indicated that the banned organisation was operating under a “different agenda”.
Rejecting what he described as a misleading narrative circulating on social media, Shaukat said the group was falsely portraying itself as peaceful while accusing security forces of targeting protesters.
“The facts on the ground are contrary to those claims,” he asserted.
He maintained that law enforcement agencies had exercised restraint throughout the situation and only responded when their personnel came under attack.
The police official’s remarks come after clashes between protesters and law enforcement personnel in Rawalakot on Monday and Mirpur on Tuesday, which reportedly resulted in several casualties.
The JAAC, which has been demanding the abolishment of 12 seats in the local legislature reserved for refugees from Indian-held Kashmir, has been holding protests in the region for several weeks now.
On Tuesday, the government accused militant elements “pursuing a foreign agenda and backed by Indian funding” of fomenting the unrest. On the other hand, the JAAC alleged that dozens of its supporters were killed in clashes with security personnel, but there was no official confirmation of the claim from any quarters.
