8 Pakistani cops on election duty kidnapped in POK amid raging protests

Police in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) claimed on Thursday at least eight personnel of the National Highways & Motorway Police, who were deputised on election duty, have been "abducted" by the Joint Awami Action Conference (JAAC), reported the Karachi-based daily, Dawn.Police spokesperson Khawar Ali Shaukat of the POK police, while addressing a televised press conference, stated that the JAAC, which has been branded by Islamabad as a terrorist organisation, attacked security personnel while they were on election duty, and abducted several individuals, reported Dawn.The JAAC has been spearheading protests demanding the abolition of 12 seats in the so-called legislative assembly in POK, reserved for "refuges" of Kashmir, which have paralysed large parts of the illegally occupied region since June.Islamabad has instituted a brutal crackdown on the protestors in the illegally-occupied region, deploying large numbers of security forces including police, Rangers and even units of the Pakistan Army. At least 90 people have been killed so far in clashes between protestors and security forces. Clashes have taken place in the midst of ongoing elections to the region's legislature, which India's Ministry of External Affairs has described as being a "complete farce."Speaking to the press, police spokesperson Khawar Ali Shauka said, "Eight highway police officials on election duty were abducted," while sharing a collage of the pictures of the abducted police, reported Dawn. "The personnel are in the custody of JAAC and have been subjected to brutal abuse," the spokesperson claimed, adding 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.At the end of his press conference, he called on the JAAC to free the abducted personnel or face the consequences."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 was quoted as saying by Dawn.This is not the first time that police personnel in POK have accused the JAAC of targeting their personnel.Dawn reported POK police spokesperson and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Riaz Mughal as saying on July 29 that members of the proscribed JAAC were "martyring and injuring rangers and police personnel" in the region illegally occupied by Pakistan."In 2026, 26 of our personnel were martyred, while 157 were seriously injured, and 629 faced minor injuries," Dawn reported Mughal as saying.This is also not the first time that police in Pakistan have been abducted whilst attempting to clamp down on insurgencies and uprisings across the country. In July, members of Tehrek-e-Taliban (TTP) abducted and later killed 18 police officers in Balochistan's Ziarat district as part of a broader series of attacks on security forces across the province.- EndsPublished By: Shounak SanyalPublished On: Aug 13, 2026 19:46 IST