AJK poll schedule likely to be announced this week

The Election Commission of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) said on Monday that the schedule for the upcoming general elections was expected to be announced in the ongoing week, after which electoral activities would formally begin.

The clarification came in a late-night press release, apparently issued in response to reports circulating on social media that attributed June 4 as the date for the announcement of the election schedule to Chief Election Commissioner retired Justice Ghulam Mustafa Mughal.

The claim, first shared by a digital media outlet, was subsequently reproduced by numerous social media users, prompting the election watchdog to issue a statement, though it made no direct reference to the reports.

“In accordance with the Constitution of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, general elections must be held within 60 days preceding the expiry of the Legislative Assembly's constitutional term,” the commission said.

It noted that the constitutional term of the incumbent assembly was calculated from Aug 3, 2021, when its first session was held.

The commission further said that under constitutional and legal requirements, the election schedule had to be issued at least 45 days before the expiry of the assembly's term to ensure the timely and orderly completion of the electoral process.

“Keeping these constitutional requirements in view, it is expected that the schedule for the general elections will be issued in the first week of June, after which electoral activities will formally commence,” a spokesperson for the commission said.

The spokesperson said the commission was finalising all necessary arrangements to ensure free, fair, transparent and impartial elections.

He added that coordination and consultations with relevant institutions were under way to ensure that the electoral process was completed smoothly and in accordance with constitutional and legal requirements.

         Tariq Naqash

 

Haider urges Islamabad to prevent 'tempering with AJK Constitution'

          Senior Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Raja Farooq Haider on Monday called upon the government of Pakistan to firmly restrain those who were “tampering with the Constitution of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).”

“We, too, can do a great deal through our own strength, but we neither want to create unrest here nor do anything that could benefit India…What is happening is part of a conspiracy to alienate the people of Pakistan from the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. We demand that the Government of Pakistan take practical measures against it,” he said while addressing a gathering of party workers from LA-33, Muzaffarabad-VII, in the town of Chinari, some 50 kilometres south of Muzaffarabad. 

Mr Haider said his party believed in the rule of law and that no group could be allowed to make decisions on behalf of the state. 

“Some people wish to introduce here the same lieutenant governor system that exists across the divide, where a puppet chief minister cannot even offer prayers at the graves of martyrs. There, the honour of our mothers, sisters and daughters is not safe. We cannot betray their blood and mission.”

Addressing the youth, he said: “Pursue whatever legitimate demands you have, but whose mandate do you possess? You did not contest elections, nor was any referendum held. How, then, have you acquired the mandate to roam around making decisions on behalf of the state?”

Mr Haider criticised AJK Prime Minister Raja Faisal Rathore, saying neither he nor his ministers were aware of what was happening. 

He urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir to take notice of the situation.

“The people of occupied Kashmir still look towards the Pakistan Army. In Azad Kashmir, a constitutional process in the form of elections is about to take place. Creating obstacles in its way and raising all kinds of demands amounts to betrayal of the Constitution.”

He also urged federal ministers to stay away from the matter, arguing that, in his view, the AJK Legislative Assembly did not possess the authority to enact legislation — including the abolition of refugee seats — that could potentially harm the Kashmir cause.

“I have no personal dispute with anyone, but circumstances cannot be ignored. I swear before Allah that we will never turn our backs on the ideology of accession to Pakistan or the ideology of Pakistan.”

Recalling the sacrifices of Kashmiri refugees, he said they gave him goosebumps. 

“I am heir to a historic legacy. As long as I live, and with the support of the people, I will not allow anyone to drive a wedge between the refugees and the people of Azad Kashmir.” 

“Tomorrow they may even demand the abolition of voting rights for refugees settled in Azad Kashmir. Whether we form a government or not is immaterial — no one can create a rift in this relationship.”

The PML-N leader maintained that the refugees settled in Pakistan were also an integral part of Azad Kashmir. “Unfortunately, political parties brought forward certain individuals on refugee seats whose conduct generated resentment among the public. However, that does not mean these seats should be abolished.”

The event was also addressed by recently inducted PML-N legislator and former minister Chaudhry Muhammad Rasheed, Mirza Asif, Sujawal Khan, Aslam Kazmi and Aftab Kayani, among others, who endorsed Mr Rasheed’s decision to join the party and pledged their full support.

Earlier, when Mr Haider arrived in Chinari alongside Mr Rasheed, they were accorded a rousing welcome. Hundreds of supporters escorted them in a large procession to the rest house. Mr Rasheed was mounted on a mare, while party workers raised enthusiastic slogans.

On the occasion, Mr Haider said those who compromised national interests for the sake of acquiring power had become cautionary examples in history. He maintained that PML-N had served the people of AJK and that the time was nearing for an end to what he described as the worst political victimisation witnessed over the past five years.

He said his party had full confidence in the Election Commission to ensure free, fair and impartial elections.

Referring to the AJK Constitution, he said: “Read the First Schedule. The second condition in Article 57 places responsibility on the Government of Pakistan to ensure the enforcement of the Constitution and law here. It is their constitutional obligation. If they fail to do so, it will amount to deceiving us. We, too, can act, but we do not want to take the law into our own hands or resort to violence.”

Tariq Naqash

AJK to host 'all parties conference' on refugee seats issue on Wednesday

    The ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) will jointly host an all-parties conference (APC) in Muzaffarabad on Wednesday to seek the views of political and other stakeholders on a contentious demand by a rights movement for the abolition of 12 Legislative Assembly seats reserved for Pakistan-based refugees from Indian-occupied territory of the erstwhile princely state.

    The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on Monday.

    The meeting, which lasted for an hour, was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Prime Minister's Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and former federal minister Qamar Zaman Kaira. Representing the Kashmiri leadership were AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, Leader of the Opposition and PML-N AJK president Shah Ghulam Qadir, and the party's secretary general, Chaudhry Tariq Farooq.

    According to sources, the participants agreed that all political and religio-political parties and organisations with a stake in the issue would be invited to attend the conference.

    The sources said the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) would also be invited to present its viewpoint before representatives of the broader political spectrum.

    The meeting resolved that there would be “no compromise on the government of Pakistan’s principled position on the issue of Kashmir”, the sources said, declining to divulge further details.

    The proposal to convene an APC was first floated during marathon but ultimately unsuccessful negotiations between a federal government team and the JAAC in Muzaffarabad on Saturday.

    According to reliable sources, the federal team, with the support of local PPP and PML-N leaders, had presented four options to the committee's core members. These included convening an APC on the issue, holding a referendum to ascertain public opinion, filing a reference before the AJK Supreme Court, or contesting the forthcoming elections on the issue and seeking a mandate from the electorate to abolish the refugee seats.

    The JAAC leadership rejected all four proposals.

    In response, the committee reiterated its demand for the abolition of the refugee seats. It also called for the election schedule to be withheld until fresh population-based delimitation was carried out and electoral reforms were introduced.

    The committee further demanded that jobs and admissions to professional colleges be granted on the basis of AJK domicile rather than State Subject certificates alone.

    The JAAC also proposed that the AJK government, excluding representation from refugee lawmakers, be recognised as the representative government of the erstwhile princely state. It argued that if representation of Pakistan-based refugees was considered inevitable, four of them should be indirectly elected to the AJK Council rather than serve as members of the Legislative Assembly.

    The proposal to hold an APC was announced by Mr Sanaullah shortly after the talks ended in a deadlock, with both sides failing to reach consensus on the issue of the refugee seats. At the time, Mr Sanaullah had indicated that the conference could be held over the weekend.

Tariq Naqash

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