Jammu and Kashmir’s director-general of police Rashmi Ranjan Swain’s tirade against Kashmiri politicians is facing resistance from within, with his deputy Vijay Kumar on Wednesday reminding him that the police force was apolitical and impartial.

Kumar’s remarks come at a time Swain is facing heat from parties for stepping into the political domain. Following the outrage, Swain, in an interview with a national TV channel, appeared to backtrack on his remarks and said he was merely seeking an introspection.

Swain had on Monday launched a broadside against Kashmir’s pro-India politicians by calling them Pakistani agents who cultivate leaders in militant networks for political gains. Kashmiri politicians hit back at him on Tuesday, calling him a political fixer and an office-bearer of a particular political party.

Quizzed by journalists on Wednesday about his boss’s outburst, ADGP (law and order) Kumar said they could be his personal views.

“Jammu and Kashmir police is an apolitical force. We work on these lines. They could be DGP sahab’s personal opinion,” he replied. “Jammu and Kashmir police is a professional police force. It is apolitical and impartial”.

Kumar on Wednesday engaged his force in offering drinks to those walking in a Muharram procession in Srinagar. The police had set up their own stall.

“It (setting up stalls) is good. It should be done. The police have a role,” he said.

“I want to salute the message in the sacrifice of (Karbala) martyrs for the good of humanity and peace and I offer my wishes to people who are observing it,” Kumar added.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday asked Swain to leave politics to politicians and do his job of combating militancy, regretting that the Union Territory administration had failed to do so.

“We politicians cannot look after law and order, we cannot fight militancy even though our party has made the maximum sacrifices,” Omar told reporters in Srinagar.

“We can raise our voice against militancy, we can help government efforts but it is the job of the DGP to fight militancy. Let him do his work, we will do ours.”

The former chief minister asked the Centre to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood and claimed that the Union Territory administration had failed in its fight “against militancy” and in “every aspect”.

Swain on Wednesday appeared to have made some amends in his remarks in an interview with a TV channel although he denied the anchor’s charge that he was backtracking.

“There is absolutely no backtracking. How did I backtrack? I am merely saying it as an introspection. The same would be available for the media,” he said.

Asked to explain his remarks, the DGP said there was “completely a different context” to what he had said.

“I was in an academic institution. We were discussing how important it is to frame strategies…. When you are making a diagnosis, designing a strategy, we need to analyse where actually you require intervention. You really need to find out what exactly needs to be done. If you are treading on the same path and expect to reach a different destination, it is not going to happen,” he said.

“Therefore I do not think it is aimed at any particular individual or for that matter any political party.”

Divulging the reason behind putting an end to street protests, the DGP had on Monday said Pakistan had successfully infiltrated all important aspects of civil society courtesy pro-India mainstream politicians.

“Things had come to such a pass that the so-called mainstream political parties had started cultivating leaders of terror networks and sometimes directly to further their electoral prospects,” Swain had told students of the Indian Institute of Management in Jammu on Monday.