MUZAFFARABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday described the recent violence in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) as “a national tragedy” and proposed the formation of an independent Truth and Reconciliation Commission to help resolve the ongoing political crisis in the region.
Addressing PPP office-bearers and election candidates in Muzaffarabad, Bilawal said the proposed commission should include all relevant stakeholders and be given a broad mandate to examine the current situation, establish the facts, hear the grievances and positions of all sides, review outstanding political, legal and administrative issues, and recommend a fair and lasting solution.
He warned that prolonged unrest in AJK would harm both the Kashmir cause and Pakistan’s international reputation. “The situation in Azad Kashmir over the past month has been deeply worrying. Every Kashmiri is worried, and every Pakistani is worried,” he said. “The longer this continues, the greater the damage to the Kashmir cause and to Pakistan’s reputation.”
Bilawal termed every death during the unrest “a national tragedy” and expressed condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. He stressed that all allegations must be investigated diligently, impartially and in accordance with due process, warning that continued confrontation would only lead to further losses and inflammatory accusations.
Calling for restraint, Bilawal appealed to protesters to suspend further demonstrations, sit-ins and long marches if the proposal for the commission was accepted by the Government of Pakistan, the AJK government and the protesters.
He said he had discussed the proposal with Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, who assured him that he would raise the matter with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Bilawal added that political differences should be handled responsibly so that Pakistan’s opponents could not exploit internal issues.
Reiterating his support for dialogue, Bilawal said the state had a legitimate position that it could not be blackmailed into surrendering, but the concerns of protesters also deserved to be addressed. “We still want a middle ground. We want a peaceful, political solution to all outstanding issues,” he said.
Referring to criticism of Pakistan’s armed forces, Bilawal said anyone speaking against Pakistan, the Pakistan Army or the country’s armed forces, whether from Kashmir or elsewhere, could not be tolerated. “Our armed forces are our red line,” he said.
Turning to constitutional matters, Bilawal proposed convening an AJK constitutional convention after the elections to consider governance reforms. He said the people of Kashmir should determine whether further constitutional, political, administrative and economic reforms were needed, adding that decisions regarding Kashmir should be made by Kashmiris rather than Islamabad or any other city.
Addressing the issue of the 12 reserved seats for Kashmiri refugees in the AJK Legislative Assembly, Bilawal said no constitutional amendment should be imposed through force or sit-ins. He said if reforms to the reserved seats were required, the matter should be decided democratically while ensuring that refugee representation remained protected.
Bilawal also proposed granting AJK greater representation in Pakistan’s national institutions through observer status in bodies such as the National Finance Commission, the Council of Common Interests, Parliament and the Senate, saying such participation would allow Kashmir’s concerns to be addressed before disputes escalated.
Despite the unrest ahead of the July 27 AJK elections, Bilawal said the PPP would continue its election campaign. “I am here, and I am not going anywhere,” he said, adding that he would stand with the people of Kashmir and PPP workers regardless of whether the current crisis was resolved before polling day.
Outlining the PPP’s broader vision for AJK, Bilawal said the party had always struggled for property rights, employment opportunities and greater political rights for the people of Kashmir. Referring to reforms introduced by the PPP government in Gilgit-Baltistan, he said land ownership had been transferred to local residents and pledged to pursue similar efforts wherever people had been denied ownership rights.
“If the new generation is to receive new rights, then we will have to continue that struggle together,” he said, reaffirming the PPP’s commitment to expanding the political, economic and administrative rights of AJK residents.
Contrasting the PPP with rival political parties, Bilawal claimed other parties took away rights and jobs, while the PPP was the only party that expanded rights and created employment opportunities.
He also reiterated that the future of Kashmir should be decided by its people. “Some people believe Kashmir’s future lies elsewhere. I believe Kashmir’s future lies only in the hands of Kashmiris,” he said, adding that the ongoing crisis should be resolved through peaceful and political means.
Regarding the July 27 elections, Bilawal said the PPP would raise election-related concerns with the federal government and welcomed assurances from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) that the electoral mandate in AJK would be respected.
He said Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and the PML-N leadership had assured him that if the PPP won the elections, the mandate of the people would be honoured, just as the PPP believed its mandate had been respected after its victory in Gilgit-Baltistan.
“I also assure them that if they win, we will respect their mandate as well,” Bilawal said, adding that respecting the public’s verdict should become a democratic norm regardless of which party formed the government.
Bilawal met Deputy Prime Minister Dar on Tuesday to discuss issues relating to AJK, following another meeting between the two last week.
Earlier this month, the PPP and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) announced an electoral alliance for the upcoming AJK elections. JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Bilawal also met and called for dialogue to resolve the ongoing unrest. Bilawal had earlier announced that both parties would jointly contest the elections and urged the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) to remain within the framework of the law and the Constitution.
Background
The recent unrest and deadly clashes erupted in several areas, including Rawalakot, where the JAAC had been staging a sit-in outside the Combined Military Hospital.
According to AJK police, armed JAAC members opened fire on deployed law enforcement personnel in what they described as a planned attack, leaving four security personnel dead and around 20 others injured. JAAC rejected the allegation, claiming security forces fired tear gas and shells towards the hospital.
Police said three individuals associated with the JAAC and four law enforcement personnel were killed during the protests. JAAC, however, maintained that seven people were killed and dozens injured after security forces allegedly opened fire in darkness following a power outage.
The clashes took place amid a standoff between the AJK government and the JAAC after elections for the AJK Legislative Assembly were scheduled for July 27.
The 53-member AJK Legislative Assembly includes 12 seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees who migrated from Indian-administered Kashmir in 1947 and 1965 and now live across Pakistan. Six seats represent refugees from the Jammu division, comprising around 434,000 people, while six represent refugees from the Kashmir Valley, which has a population of about 30,000—a disparity that many critics consider unfair.
AJK witnessed one of its most turbulent periods in October last year when JAAC-led protests demanding constitutional and governance reforms left at least nine people, including three police officers, dead.
The JAAC’s charter of demands included ending privileges for the ruling elite, abolishing the 12 reserved refugee seats in the AJK Assembly and scrapping the existing quota system.
Two days after the latest violence, the government and the JAAC reached an agreement covering 12 core and 13 additional points. Under the accord, both sides agreed to establish a high-level committee to examine the issue of reserved refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly.