Talks between federal team, JAAC end without accord; June 9 strike call remains in force

  Abolishing 12 assembly seats for Pakistan-based refugees remains key stumbling; Government insists dialogue process will continue next week
 

Marathon talks between a federal ministerial team and the core leadership of the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) ended without an agreement late on Saturday night, with the latter announcing that its June 9 strike call would go ahead as scheduled.

"Today, we held talks with the representatives of the governments of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) throughout the day on all issues, including the 12 refugee seats. Despite the breach of trust, we had detailed discussions, and proposals were exchanged as well," JAAC core member Shaukat Nawaz Mir told reporters soon after the committee's leaders emerged from the meeting room at around 11:20pm.

"The official representatives asked us to postpone our strike call. But we have decided to keep it intact and we call upon the masses to expedite preparations for it," he said.

Mr Mir hastened to make it clear that the JAAC had "welcomed every serious effort on the part of the government for resolution of demands" and renewed its resolve to extend a similar gesture in future.

The talks were convened in an effort to persuade the JAAC to withdraw its planned strike and resolve differences over its charter of demands.

The process, which continued for more than nine hours with breaks in between, assumed added significance because the strike call has raised concerns about its possible impact on AJK's forthcoming general elections, expected in the last week of July.

Although the election schedule has yet to be announced, observers believe any prolonged agitation could complicate preparations for the polls.

The federal delegation comprised cabinet members Rana Sanaullah, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and Ahsan Iqbal of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, alongside former premier Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and former federal minister Qamar Zaman Kaira of the Pakistan Peoples Party.

AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, PPP regional president Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin, PML-N regional president Shah Ghulam Qadir and PML-N regional secretary general Chaudhry Tariq Farooq also attended the talks.

Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Amir Muqam was absent. His absence came amid the JAAC's repeated demand that he be excluded from the negotiations due to alleged bias. However, members of the federal delegation maintained that he was occupied with engagements related to the Gilgit-Baltistan elections.

The JAAC was represented by 16 core members, including Shaukat Nawaz Mir, Raja Amjad Ali Khan, Anjum Zaman Awan, Umar Nazir Kashmiri, Saad Ansari and Imtiaz Aslam.

The first round of talks began shortly before 2pm and continued until 4pm. Participants said all but one of the 38 points in the JAAC's charter of demands were discussed.

The remaining issue was the most contentious: the abolition of 12 legislative assembly seats reserved for Pakistan-based refugees from Indian-occupied Kashmir. Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal left for Islamabad before the first session concluded, citing prior engagements.

The refugee seats remain a key disagreement. The PML-N's AJK chapter opposes their abolition, expecting to perform strongly in the 10 constituencies located within Punjab.

The PPP, which currently enjoys the support of five refugee lawmakers, is reportedly less invested in retaining the seats due to limited electoral prospects.

During a break in the talks, members of the official delegations remained at the hotel for lunch. However, JAAC representatives declined to join them and instead drove to Chattar Chowk for a meal, saying they did not wish to be part of what they described as the wasteful use of taxpayers' money.

Speaking to reporters during the interval, JAAC leader Umar Nazir Kashmiri rejected the impression that the talks were focused solely on the refugee seats issue.

"Negotiations are being held on all points included in our charter of demands, not just the 12 seats," he said.

"If the issue of these seats is resolved, we will withdraw our strike call," he added.

            Mr Kashmiri maintained that the abolition of elite privileges was an equally important demand.

            "We want an end to the privileges enjoyed by rulers, the bureaucracy and the judiciary at the expense of poor taxpayers," he said.

The second session began at 6:10pm and concluded at 11:20pm.

A short while later, Rana Sanaullah and other members of the federal delegation also spoke to reporters, insisting that the negotiations had not broken down.

"The negotiations have absolutely not failed; this process will continue," Mr Sanaullah said.

"We held the meeting in a very good atmosphere. We also gave some suggestions, and they did too. The process of dialogue and consultation on these issues will continue next week as well."

He said the AJK government and the opposition PML-N had agreed to convene an all-parties conference on the situation and the JAAC's demands so that all stakeholders could be taken into confidence. According to him, another round of talks was expected on June 6 or 7 following the conference.

Responding to a question about the possible impact of the dispute on the forthcoming elections, Mr Sanaullah said the polls would be held in accordance with the Constitution and expressed confidence that the situation would be defused before then.

Tariq Naqash

Cancer-stricken mother’s final wish fulfilled as son’s nikah solemnised in hospital ward

In a heart-rending yet profoundly moving scene, the nikah of a young lawyer was solemnised in the pulmonology ward of a hospital in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s capital on Thursday night to fulfil the final wish of his ailing mother, who passed away only hours later after a prolonged battle with cancer.

The ceremony took place shortly after Maghrib prayers in the ward where 60-year-old Robina Bibi, a widow and mother of advocate Sardar Faiz, had been admitted after her condition deteriorated critically earlier this week.

According to family members, Robina Bibi had been battling ovarian cancer with remarkable courage and determination for nearly three years. However, on Sunday, her health worsened sharply and she was shifted to the Abbas Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), where doctors kept her under constant observation.

A day before she was taken to the hospital, she told Sardar Adnan, one of her son’s cousins, that arrangements should be made for Mr Faiz’s wedding with his maternal cousin within two weeks.

“When she was admitted to hospital, she told me that since her life was on a bonus, the nikah should be solemnised under any circumstances on the second or third day of Eid,” Mr Adnan told Dawn.

On Wednesday evening, the first day of Eidul Azha, she lost consciousness and never regained it. By Thursday noon, doctors had virtually lost hope for her survival.

Faced with the grim reality, the family decided to fulfil her wish without delay.

Some family members rushed to the bride’s home to formally seek her hand for Mr Faiz and requested that the nikah be solemnised the same evening — a proposal her family agreed to.

Thus, amid the quiet corridors of the hospital and the subdued sobs of relatives, the nikah ceremony was held in the ward itself.

A cousin brought a new white suit for the 26-year-old groom, while another arranged a traditional turban. The bride arrived at the hospital along with her parents and siblings.

In the 10-bed ward, the ceremony was attended not only by close relatives but also by several patients and their attendants, besides a female doctor and supporting staff.

“I saw something like this happening in a hospital ward for the first time. It was an intensely emotional scene and many people were struggling to hold back tears,” said the doctor, identified only as Javeria.

A video clip recorded during the ceremony captured perhaps its most moving moment: the groom sitting beside his unconscious mother, holding her hand as the clergyman solemnising the nikah continued to offer supplications.

“It seemed as though she was waiting only for this moment,” said Shiraz Khaliq, a cousin who was also among the attendees. “After the nikah, aunty’s face looked calm and peaceful for the first time in many days.”

Family members said Robina Bibi appeared peaceful following the ceremony and breathed her last at around 4am on Friday.

She was later laid to rest in a local graveyard in Gojra before Friday prayers.

“But little did I imagine that the nikah would take place in such extraordinary circumstances and with such haste,” Mr Faiz said quietly while receiving mourners at his residence.

The young advocate’s life itself had been shaped by tragedy and resilience. He was barely three years old when his father died in flash floods in Muscat, Oman, where he had been working to support the family.

Since then, Robina Bibi had single-handedly raised her son through years of hardship, dedicating her life to his upbringing and education.

“My mother was both my mother and father,” Mr Faiz said. “Everything I am today is because of her sacrifices.”

“Even in her final moments, her only concern was my future,” he added quietly.

Many of those who attended the unusual ceremony said it was not merely a nikah, but the completion of a mother’s final prayer and a son’s ultimate act of love and obedience.

Tariq Naqash

Seven local picnickers killed in AJK accident

Seven local picnickers were killed after a loader rickshaw carrying them plunged into a deep ravine in the remote Haveli district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), prompting the government to announce two days of mourning in the area, officials said on Friday.

The deceased, aged between 20 and 30 years, belonged to Jokan Ganji Galli and Kalsan villages and were close relatives.

They were returning to Forward Kahuta, the district headquarters, after a sightseeing trip to Hilla’n waterfall when the accident occurred near Mannumor, on the outskirts of Khurshidabad, on Thursday afternoon.

The loader rickshaw, comparatively longer than a normal three-wheeler, reportedly skidded off the road and plunged around 400 feet into a ravine, leaving the vehicle completely wrecked.

Two persons — Mohammad Idrees Gakhar, who was behind the wheel, and Sardar Bilal Iftikhar — died on the spot, while the remaining five sustained critical injuries.

A doctor at the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital in Forward Kahuta, requesting anonymity, confirmed to Dawn that two of the victims brought there were “dead on arrival,” while the others had suffered severe head and spinal injuries.

“If you see the condition of the iron-made rickshaw, which was completely smashed, you can imagine what happened to the human beings travelling in it,” he said.

The doctor said the injured were administered first aid but, due to the unavailability of surgeons and ventilators at the DHQ hospital, they had to be shifted to the army’s Mobile Surgical Team (MST) in nearby Tachhan village.

From there, the injured were moved to the Combined Military Hospital in Rawalakot, headquarters of neighbouring Poonch district, where three of them — Faisal Iqbal Gakhar; Aqib Hidayat Khan; and Umar Iqbal Khan — succumbed to their injuries.

The remaining two injured — Waqar Riaz Khan and Shahzeb Afridi — were shifted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad, where they passed away on Friday morning. 

In their initial report, police attributed the accident to “negligence, reckless driving and speeding” on the part of the driver.

However, Hammad Bukhari, a local journalist, termed the conclusion premature, pointing out that there were no eyewitnesses and all seven occupants of the vehicle had died.

         Funeral prayers for four of the deceased were offered at Jokan Ganji Galli before Friday prayers, while those for two others were held in Forward Kahuta after prayers. The funeral of the seventh victim, whose body arrived from Islamabad later, was held on Saturday. 

At a condolence reference in Kahuta, speakers criticised the district administration over what they described as a delayed rescue response, and paid tributes to the residents of Khurshidabad, including women, for retrieving the injured and transporting the bodies using loader vehicles due to the absence of government ambulances.

They urged Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, who represents Haveli’s sole constituency, to order an inquiry into the alleged administrative negligence.

Lamenting the “poor condition of roads” in the area, they said that since most routes near the Line of Control were strategically important defence roads, they should be upgraded to National Highway Authority standards to help prevent frequent accidents.

Both the federal and AJK governments should take practical measures for improving rescue services, healthcare facilities, traffic management and road infrastructure in Haveli district, they added.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Rathore expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives and announced two-day mourning in the district.

Expressing solidarity with the bereaved families, he said the government stood by them in this difficult time.

He announced Rs one million for the heirs of each victim. 

According to his spokesperson, the prime minister had sought a report on the accident and directed the authorities to take strict action against vehicles operating without fitness certificates.

Road accidents are common in AJK’s mountainous areas and are often blamed on negligent driving, poor road conditions and unfit vehicles.

Two days before Eid, two cousins were killed and a third injured when a car plunged into a ravine in the Jhelum Valley district.

Earlier this month, four persons were killed and two others were injured after a passenger vehicle tumbled more than 300 feet before plunging near a fast-flowing stream in Neelum Valley.

Tariq Naqash

Road accident claims lives of two cousins ahead of Eid

Eid festivities turned into mourning for a family in the border town of Chakothi in Jhelum Valley district after its two young members were killed and another injured in a car accident on Monday evening.

According to local officials, the accident occurred near Sain Bagh when a car bearing Islamabad registration number AXD-819 plunged hundreds of feet into a ravine due to reasons yet to be ascertained.

As a result, Owais Mughal, 25, son of Abdul Rahim Mughal and brother of District Health Officer Jhelum Valley Dr Tahir Rahim Mughal, and his cousin Taimoor Mughal, 31, son of Nazir Mughal, died on the spot.

Owais, who worked in Saudi Arabia, was home on vacation while his cousin served as a dental technician in the AJK health department.

A third occupant of the vehicle, Waheed Mughal, 30, also their cousin, sustained injuries and was shifted to the hospital, where his condition was said to be out of danger.

 The trio had gone to Lamnian for tea, and the accident occurred on their way back home at around 7:50pm.

Funeral prayers for the deceased were offered separately on Tuesday in Chakothi and Nikka Mughlan, with a large number of people from different walks of life, including political leaders and government officials, in attendance.

In a statement, AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore expressed deep grief over the tragic accident and extended heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. He prayed for eternal peace for the deceased and wished a speedy recovery for the injured man.

Tariq Naqash

 

PTI completes candidate interviews for AJK polls despite ‘challenges’

The parliamentary board of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has successfully concluded its interview process for the forthcoming general elections, receiving a total of 186 applications across the region despite “severe political and administrative challenges.”

This was stated by the party’s regional Information Secretary Azhar Gillani in a press release on Monday. 

He said the selection process wrapped up in Mirpur late on Sunday evening following extensive interviews spanning all three divisions of the territory.

He said the party received 53 applications from Mirpur division, 44 from Muzaffarabad division, 41 from Poonch division, and 36 from the Jammu and Kashmir refugees constituencies, covering both the Jammu and Valley seats.

Out of the total applications received, 12 remain pending due to incomplete documentation, he added. 

Mr Gillani highlighted that despite the party lacking formal registration in AJK and facing an uphill political battle, applications were received from all 33 territorial constituencies as well as all refugee segments. He termed this “overwhelming participation” a clear testament to the “public's continued trust in Imran Khan’s ideology.”

The PTI leader further announced that the parliamentary board, operating under the chairmanship of party’s regional president and former AJK prime minister Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan Niazi, will expedite the ticket distribution process immediately after Eid. The official lineup of candidates is expected to be announced shortly thereafter, he said.

Vowing to contest the elections with full force, the PTI information secretary stated that neither the lack of formal party registration nor the deprivation of their electoral symbol would deter them from entering the field. 

“Our party will fight the current system with full might and repeat the political history of February 8 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.”

Tariq Naqash

PAC chairman warns against ‘divisive narratives’ in AJK

Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly Abdul Majid Khan on Monday condemned what he described as anti-state and divisive narratives being spread in the territory and urged the public to identify those behind such campaigns. 

Speaking at the oath-taking ceremony of district and tehsil bodies of the Pathan Welfare Association at a local hotel, Mr Khan said attempts were being made to create divisions between locals and migrants as well as between Kashmiris and Pakistanis in Muzaffarabad, which he said had historically remained a peaceful and harmonious city. 

He also criticised social media users for spreading rumours regarding the alleged entry of terrorists into AJK and Punjab, saying such propaganda weakened Pakistan’s position and provided material to Indian media. 

“The public should decide whose agenda these people are serving,” he said. 

Referring to the role of Pashtuns in the liberation of the region, Mr Khan said the “Pathan nation” had rendered immense sacrifices in 1947. 

“It is because of the bravery of the Pashtuns that we are breathing in free air today,” he said, adding that many people claimed to champion the Kashmir freedom movement, but it was the “courageous Pathans” who had sacrificed their lives and wealth for the liberation of the territory. 

Mr Khan also asserted that the people of AJK were proud to be Pakistanis. 

The ceremony was also addressed by the association’s central president, Ghani-ur-Rehman Khattak, retired Col Abdul Majid Khan, former MLA Gulzar Fatima, former Mansehra nazim Baladar Khan, former administrator District Council Jhelum Valley Fareed Khan, Zahidul Qamar, and some other leaders. 

According to speakers, the association had no political, linguistic or group-specific agenda and had been working since 2001 for brotherhood, national unity and public service. 

They claimed that nearly one million Pashtuns were living in AJK and had played a key role in the development and defence of both Pakistan and AJK. However, they regretted what they termed inadequate representation of Pashtuns in governance and decision-making processes. 

“This state belongs to us too. We liberated it and we will defend it,” Mr Khattak said. 

The speakers also warned India against any “misadventure” towards Pakistan or AJK, claiming that Pashtuns living in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of India would respond in the same way “as in 1947”. 

Tributes were also paid to the Pakistan Armed Forces and Chief of Army Staff Gen Syed Asim Munir for what the speakers described as their courageous defence of the country. 

While MLA Khan administered oaths to the newly elected district office-bearers, Ms Fatima and retired Col Khan administered oaths to the tehsil bodies of Muzaffarabad and Naseerabad, respectively. Fareed Khan administered oath to the Pathan Youth Council office-bearers. 

According to organisers, a large number of members of the association’s general council attended the ceremony.

Tariq Naqash

JKCHR seeks clarification on refugee seats clause in JAAC agreement

The Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights (JKCHR) has urged a high-powered committee constituted by the federal government to clarify that no final decision has been taken regarding the status of the 12 refugee seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly. 

In a detailed communication addressed to the chairman of the committee constituted under a Jan 6, 2026 notification of the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit-Baltistan and SAFRON, JKCHR President Dr Syed Nazir Gilani expressed “serious constitutional, procedural and representational concerns” over what he described as the “public misinterpretation” of Item 2(xii) of the agreement reached with the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC). 

Established in 1984, the JKCHR is a UK-based NGO enjoying Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) since 2001. 

It pointed out that some JAAC representatives and supporters were publicly claiming through media statements and public platforms that a decision had already been taken to abolish the 12 refugee seats, an assertion the organisation described as legally untenable and unsupported by the wording of the agreement. 

Quoting the relevant clause, the JKCHR pointed out that it merely stated that “a high-powered committee comprising legal and constitutional experts will deliberate on the issue of the members of AJK Assembly other than AJK constituencies,” and did not amount to a constitutional amendment, executive determination, repeal provision or binding settlement. 

The JKCHR maintained that any public projection of a predetermined outcome before the committee had even deliberated would undermine the neutrality, procedural fairness and institutional credibility of the process. 

The organisation also highlighted what it called several constitutional and procedural ambiguities in Item 2(xii). It pointed out that while the opening sentence referred to “legal and constitutional experts”, the operative part subsequently restricted representation to “legal experts” from the governments of Pakistan and AJK and JAAC. 

According to the letter, the issue involved broader constitutional questions relating to representational legitimacy, the Interim Constitution, state subject identity and international commitments linked to the Kashmir dispute, including the UNCIP framework. 

The JKCHR further noted that the clause did not specify which authority would receive the committee’s report, whether its recommendations would be binding, or whether any constitutional amendment or legislation would be required to implement them. 

The organisation also criticised the absence of any mechanism for participation by refugee constituencies themselves, saying the committee structure recognised only the governments of Pakistan and AJK and JAAC, while excluding refugee representatives, displaced communities, bar associations and civil society groups representing affected populations. 

It argued that no constitutionally sustainable recommendation affecting refugee representation could emerge without the structured participation of the refugee constituencies and their elected representatives. 

The JKCHR also termed vague and legally uncertain the concluding portion of Item 2(xii), which placed “provisions/concessions/allocation of funds/status of ministries” in abeyance, saying it did not clarify whether assembly membership, voting rights, ministries or constitutional entitlements remained intact. 

Describing the refugee seats as symbolic of the continuity of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and recognition of displaced populations, the organisation said any alteration to the framework carried implications beyond internal administrative arrangements.

The JKCHR called upon the committee to formally clarify that no final decision had yet been taken on the refugee seats, discourage “public misinformation”, ensure participation of refugee constituencies in the deliberations, and associate constitutional experts with the process. 

In a separate letter addressed to AJK Chief Secretary Khushal Khan, Dr Gilani requested official circulation of JKCHR’s representation among the chairman, all members of the high-powered committee, the senior minister for law and justice and other relevant authorities connected with the deliberative process. 

Referring to reports that the committee’s next meeting was expected on May 25, he urged the authorities to ensure timely circulation so that JKCHR’s concerns could form part of the “official deliberative record” before any recommendation was finalised.

Tariq Naqash