AJK police chief says state writ will be enforced at all costs

MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) police chief Liaquat Malik said on Monday that the writ of the state will be enforced at all costs, as authorities accused protesters of inciting unrest, attacking security personnel and disrupting public order.

Addressing a press conference alongside AJK Chief Secretary Khushal Khan, the police inspector general said that a sub-inspector of Islamabad police was stopped and subjected to violence, adding that his legs were broken during the incident.

He said young people were being incited against the state and claimed that there were calls to attack legislative assemblies.

“The youth have been incited against the state,” Malik said, adding that slogans had been raised against soldiers “who are fighting for the country’s freedom,” while derogatory remarks were made about martyrs.

He alleged that some protesters were using women and children as human shields, forcibly shutting down markets, and had already been booked and arrested in several cases.

Malik said attacks on state institutions, including kidnapping of government employees, violence in hospitals, and desecration of bodies, could not be termed public grievances.

He also said that the burning of the Pakistani flag outside the Indian embassy was not a legitimate political demand, calling it part of what he described as an “agenda being pursued by a few miscreants.”

The AJK chief secretary said that despite legitimate demands being met, protests had continued, adding that the government’s top priority was maintaining law and order in the region.

Khushal Khan said that the federal government had provided Rs20 to Rs25 billion to meet administrative and development needs in the territory, while the overall federal budget contribution stood at around Rs350 billion.

He said several actionable demands had already been implemented, but elements of the banned Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee had continued protest activity.

He said that the group initially gained public sympathy over issues such as wheat and electricity prices, but later disrupted peace and order.

The chief secretary said protesters had been offered constitutional and legal solutions but instead they issued threats of “marching on institutions” and refused dialogue in favour of unilateral demands.

He said supply trucks had been stopped and drivers assaulted, while residents of Rawalakot had contacted authorities distancing themselves from the protest leadership.

Khushal Khan urged protesters to surrender to law enforcement, adding that the government remained open to dialogue within the constitutional framework.