122 Arrested in Cases Linked to 2025 Chamyati Unrest: AJK IGP

MUZAFFARABAD: At least 122 people have been arrested in cases related to attacks on police personnel, injuries to law-enforcement officials and damage to public property during unrest in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Inspector General of Police (IGP) Captain (retd) Liaquat Ali Malik said on Monday. Speaking at a press conference alongside AJK Chief Secretary Khushal Khan in Muzaffarabad, Malik said 69 FIRs had been registered against groups involved in the unrest and that 122 “disruptive elements” had so far been arrested in connection with the 2025 Chamyati incidents. He said the cases related to attacks in which police personnel were killed or injured and public property was damaged, adding that the state had exercised “patience and restraint” while attempting to resolve the situation peacefully.  The IGP said the press conference was held to pay tribute to police and other law-enforcement personnel who had been killed during the unrest, as well as to their injured colleagues and families. He said the personnel had sacrificed their lives for the security and peace of Kashmir while trying to prevent armed groups from disrupting public order and “Kashmiriyat”.  According to Malik, some groups had used demands for public rights as a cover to pursue personal loyalties or act at someone else’s direction. He said such groups had repeatedly called for “total closure”, attempted to hold the state hostage, attacked law-enforcement agencies and burned government property.  The state had repeatedly shown “patience and restraint” and given peace a chance, including during the latest unrest, he said. “Despite this, up to today, no entry or exit point has been closed. Life is continuing normally, traffic is moving, and markets are open,” he added. Malik further said efforts to pursue an agenda aimed at disrupting the elections had failed, with elections held and an elected government subsequently formed.  The IGP said the government had accepted demands it considered “reasonable” and “logical” and had continued efforts to maintain law and order peacefully. From October 1, 2025 to June 4, 2026, he said, the message accompanying every speech and activity had been “total closure”. The situation escalated again on the night of June 4-5, when law-enforcement personnel were attacked and several were killed, he said. “After that, to maintain the writ of the state, maintain law and order and exercise its authority, the state used the minimum use of force and tried to maintain peace,” he added. Police, Rangers, Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel and civilians suffered casualties during the unrest, with more than 1,000 people injured, according to the IGP. “After so many sacrifices, peace is visible in Kashmir, and the police and other law-enforcement agencies are still standing firm and performing their duty for the peace of Kashmir,” he said. Malik also referred to an incident in Chamyati almost a year earlier, saying groups had similarly attempted to hold the state hostage and attacked police. Three police personnel, Constable Tahir Rafiq, Constable Muhammad Jameel and Head Constable Muhammad Khurshid, were killed by gunfire, he said. He added that the bodies of the martyred personnel were later desecrated and that video evidence of the incident existed.