Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday said the government would withdraw the cases filed against 9,730 people between 2008 and 2017 for stone-pelting incidents, PTI reported.

The government’s decision to not pursue the 1,745 cases was subject to “certain conditions”, the chief minister told the Assembly, and was based on the recommendations of a committee set up to look into the matter. Mufti, however, did not disclose the details of first-time offenders, keeping in mind their security and that of their families.

Mufti said that 56 government employees and 16 Hurriyat Conference activists were among the 4,949 people found involved in stone-pelting incidents, while 4,074 were not affiliated with any separatist or militant group.

Two months after assuming power in 2016, Mufti had withdrawn 104 cases, filed between 2008 and 2014, against 634 local youths. However, the process stalled because of continued unrest in the state after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed. More than 100 people had died in the subsequent chaos.

In November 2017, Mufti asked the authorities to withdraw 4,327 cases filed between 2008 and 2014.