ISLAMABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) police on Wednesday said that 26 personnel were martyred this year during incidents of unrest, accusing the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) of deliberately targeting law enforcement personnel.

Addressing a press conference in Muzaffarabad, AJK police spokesperson SSP Riaz Mughal said that members of the proscribed JAAC were “martyring and injuring rangers and police personnel” in the region.

“In 2026 only, 26 of our personnel were martyred, while 157 were seriously injured, and 629 faced minor injuries,” he said, without specifying the incidents in which the casualties occurred.

“After these figures, how can you say that they are peaceful protesters?” the SSP asked.

The police official’s remarks came a day after clashes between protesters and law enforcement personnel in Rawalakot on Monday and Mirpur, which reportedly resulted in several casualties.

The police spokesperson suggested that one should go to AJK and impartially witness the situation and the nature of those 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 described as peaceful when they “engaged in such acts”.

SSP Mughal also presented the weapons allegedly recovered from the protesters during different operations. “They use these weapons against law enforcement people.”

He recalled that on May 11, 2024, when the police confronted JAAC protesters who were heading towards Muzaffarabad, the incident resulted in the martyrdom of a police officer and serious injuries to 60 personnel.

SSP Mughal went on to note that in October 2025, three cops were martyred on the spot, 52 personnel were seriously injured, and 357 others were also hurt.

The spokesperson emphasised that these were “anti-state” individuals who were carrying out “terrorist activities” under a plan.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2026