Director-general of police Rashmi Ranjan Swain’s no-holds-barred broadside against Kashmir’s pro-India politicians, calling them Pakistani agents who cultivate leaders in militant networks for political gains, triggered a tense face-off on Tuesday, earning him the sobriquet of a “political fixer”.

The confrontation came amid fresh army killings in Doda, with parties openly gunning for his head for his alleged failure to contain militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.

Political parties in Kashmir have been at the receiving end of the BJP-led government’s clampdown and hostile narrative but Swain has taken the game to the next level, despite not being a politician. His main target seems to be former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, who ironically headed a PDP-BJP government here.

Divulging details of how the Valley saw no street protests after the 2019 scrapping of Article 370, Swain said the regional mainstream was helping Pakistan.

“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,” the DGP told students of the Indian Institute of Management in Jammu at an event on Monday.

Swain said it had become normal for these leaders to visit the residences of slain militants, sympathise with their victims in public and while it was allowed to eliminate recruits into militancy, those responsible for inducting and arranging their finances were never investigated.

The DGP said: “Many may argue that the fear of the state has forced people inside. Believe me, it is not the full truth. The full truth is Pakistan successfully came to infiltrate all important aspects of civil society, thanks to regional so-called mainstream politics in the Valley.

“There is ample evidence to show that many had mastered the art of running with the hare and hunting with the hounds, which left both the common man and the security forces bewildered, frightened and confused,” he said.

He added that the SP-rank officers were thrown behind bars and put alongside militants for crimes they had never committed.

Hitting back, Mehbooba demanded the immediate sacking of the top cop, saying he was fortunate there was no accountability for the killing of soldiers in the Jammu region.

“By now, heads should have rolled. The DGP should have been sacked. Almost 50 soldiers have lost their lives in the last 32 months,” said Mehbooba, addressing a media conference to counter his allegations.

Mehbooba said the DGP, instead of fighting militancy, was busy “fixing things politically”.

“His job is how to break the people of the PDP and how to harass people and journalists. Passports and verifications have been weaponised. They are finding ways to impose the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act on people,” she said.

“We don’t need a fixer here, we need a DGP. We have had DGPs from outside (other states) before and they have worked very well. No one has worked on such lines like things are being done now,” she said, accusing him of “treating Kashmiris as Pakistanis”.

Mehbooba said it was the DGP’s and not her or National Conference leader Omar Abdullah’s job to stop infiltration. “While there is infiltration from Pakistan, what is the DGP doing? Is it my job or Omar Abdullah’s job to stop infiltration? Who is at the borders? Who has to deal with the situation?” she asked.

“Soldiers come to Kashmir for their duty but go back in coffins. Who is responsible for this?” She also accused the DGP of militarising the police force.

The former CM said that the BJP had been “ruling” Jammu and Kashmir for the past six years and it was a big slap on their face that Engineer Rashid, who batted for a referendum on Kashmir, won the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat.

“In north Kashmir, people preferred to elect a voice that speaks about self-determination and plebiscite. The nationalist forces were not elected. They want to conceal their shortcomings,” she said.

Srinagar MP Aga Ruhullah said the DGP has “arrogantly and overtly started bad-mouthing” and needs to be reminded that he was working like a state president for a particular party.

“While he was busy in breaking and making political parties in Kashmir, More than 55 army personnel, including officers of different ranks up to junior commissioned officers, have lost their lives in different attacks in Jammu since 2023,” he said.