Police in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir accused the JAAC of abducting eight highway personnel on election duty. The charge has sharpened tensions around disputed assembly seats and the wider security crackdown.

Police in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on Thursday accused the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) of abducting eight highway police personnel deployed on election duty, and warned of strict action if they were harmed. A police spokesperson said the men were being held by the JAAC and had been subjected to ‘brutal abuse’.

The allegations come amid sustained protests by the JAAC over 12 contentious seats in the so-called regional legislative assembly. The group claims the establishment manipulates these seats to install a prime minister of its choosing, while also alleging a severe crackdown by security forces since the protests began in June.

Police spokesperson Khawar Ali Shaukat told the media that the JAAC had attacked security forces deputed on election duty in the region. ‘Eight highway police officials on election duty were abducted,’ he said. He added that the abducted personnel were in JAAC custody and alleged that they had faced ‘brutal abuse’.

Shaukat said, ‘I want to make it clear that the state was not and is not weak. The state has always shown restraint,’ and added that recent events showed that the JAAC was not a peaceful group but a violent one intent on challenging the state’s writ. He further warned, ‘The state will not accept any pressure with regard to the lives of these officials. If the personnel are harmed, obstacles are created in their release or threats to their families continue, the state will not show any leniency.’

The spokesperson asked the public to disassociate themselves from the JAAC. ‘If the state’s writ is challenged and if state officials are subjected to violence the state will carry out its duties in accordance with the law and the Constitution,’ he said, while vowing strict action against such elements.

The JAAC is a collective of activist groups that includes students, traders, transporters, lawyers and social workers. It has been holding a series of protests in PoK since June. The group has alleged that more than 40 people, including women and children, have been killed since the elections began. It has also claimed that 400 protesters have been killed since the first week of June.

India has described the elections as an attempt by Pakistan to camouflage its illegal occupation and hide its ‘grave’ human rights violations in the region. New Delhi has maintained that the entire Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable parts of India, and has also said that Pakistan remains in ‘illegal and forcible occupation’ of parts of these Union Territories.

In sum, police in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir have accused the JAAC of abducting eight officers on election duty and issued a strong warning, while the JAAC has continued its protests over the disputed assembly seats and alleged deaths in the security crackdown.

With PTI Inputs