Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) police said on Thursday that eight highway police personnel on election duty had been “abducted” by the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC).

Addressing a televised press conference, police spokesperson Khawar Ali Shaukat alleged that the JAAC attacked security forces deputed on election duty in the region.

“Eight highway police officials on election duty were abducted,” he said as state media shared a collage of the officials’ pictures.

“The personnel are in the custody of JAAC and have been subjected to brutal abuse,” he said. He said that the “miscreants also threatened the families of the personnel that they would be martyred if their demands were not met”.

He said that recent events showed that the JAAC was not a peaceful group, but a violent one intent on challenging the state’s writ and weakening institutions.

“I want to make it clear that the state was not and is not weak. The state has always shown restraint,” he said, adding that violent acts for the sake of rights were not above the law.

He said that the people of the region, by participating in polls in the region, had made it clear that they had nothing to do with the proscribed group. He appealed to the public to disassociate themselves from the JAAC and to not get involved in acts where the state’s writ was challenged.

He appealed to parents to keep an eye on their children, saying: ““They play with the future of young people and instigate them against state through misleading propaganda and provocative statements.”

At the end of his press conference, he called on the JAAC to free the abducted personnel.

“The state will not accept any pressure with regards 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,” he said.

“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, vowing strict action against such elements.

“Any group that challenges the state’s writ will be dealt with accordingly,” he said.

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.

Clashes took place between protesters and law enforcement personnel in Rawalakot and Mirpur on July 28, which reportedly resulted in several casualties. Amid the tensions, elections are being held across the region in phases.

The government has accused militant elements “pursuing a foreign agenda and backed by Indian funding” of fomenting the unrest.

Last week, AJK Information Secretary Muhammad Rashid Hanif said that seven law enforcement personnel, including those from police and Rangers, were martyred during recent unrest in the region.