AJK Assembly backs MPC resolution on refugee seats, timely elections

The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution reaffirming support for the constitutional status of the 12 seats reserved for refugees from Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir and calling for the holding of legislative assembly elections on schedule.

    The resolution, jointly moved by five cabinet members, mirrored the declaration adopted at a multi-party conference convened by the government on Wednesday. The session was presided over by Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar, who has been serving as acting president since early this year.

    After the question hour and legislative business, Finance Minister Chaudhry Qasim Majeed read out the resolution and briefed the house on progress made in implementing the demands of the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC).

    “We implemented all those points which were within our jurisdiction. But the matters which have a financial impact do take some time,” he said.

    Mr Majeed, who heads the committee overseeing implementation of the agreement reached with the JAAC, said the government had honoured all commitments made under the October 4 agreement under the leadership of Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore.

    Taking part in the debate, Law Minister Mian Abdul Waheed said the government could not abolish the refugee seats through an executive decision, as any such move would required a constitutional amendment passed by a two-thirds majority of the Legislative Assembly.

    “Constitutional matters can be addressed through constitutional means,” he remarked.

    Mr Waheed disclosed that the PPP had at one stage proposed converting the refugee seats into reserved seats to be filled indirectly by lawmakers elected from AJK constituencies, with the aim of addressing concerns over the existing electoral mechanism. However, he said the proposal failed to attract broader support and was subsequently withdrawn.

    “Let me make it clear that we never thought the refugees are separate from us and we believe their representation must remain intact,” he added.

    Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore told the house that all major political parties had participated in the recent multi-party conference, which unanimously endorsed a resolution supporting refugee representation and timely elections. Stressing that refugees were an integral part of AJK's political structure, he said the government preferred dialogue over confrontation and would continue efforts to resolve disputes through consultation rather than force.

    He also cautioned against allowing hostile elements to exploit internal divisions, saying protection of the state's political system was a collective responsibility.

    Leader of the Opposition Shah Ghulam Qadir reiterated the PML-N's support for retaining the voting and representation rights of refugees residing in Pakistan and argued that any change to their constitutional status could only be made through legislation. He welcomed the consensus among political parties on holding elections on time.

    Former prime minister Raja Farooq Haider maintained that abolishing refugee representation would undermine Pakistan's position on the Kashmir dispute and exclude millions of displaced Kashmiris from the state's political framework. He said refugee representation had existed since the inception of the AJK government and should remain linked to the unresolved status of the Kashmir issue.

    PPP AJK president Chaudhry Mohammad Yasin also opposed the abolition of the seats, saying the matter should be resolved through dialogue. While endorsing the consensus reached at the multi-party conference, he suggested that alternative mechanisms of refugee representation could be discussed if required.

    Several other lawmakers, including ministers and refugee representatives, also supported the resolution, describing refugee representation as a constitutional, historical and political right and backing the holding of elections within the timeframe prescribed by the constitution.

     Tariq Naqash

AJK President invokes Supreme Court's advisory jurisdiction on refugee seats

Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s (AJK) Acting President Chaudhry Latif Akbar on Thursday invoked the advisory jurisdiction of the region’s Supreme Court, seeking its opinion on a set of constitutional questions arising from demands by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) for the abolition of the 12 Legislative Assembly seats reserved for refugees from Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

The three-member full court headed by Chief Justice Raja Saeed Akram, and comprising Justice Raza Ali Khan and Justice Khalid Yousaf Chaudhary, was scheduled to take up the presidential reference, filed under Article 46-A of the AJK Interim Constitution, 1974, on Friday for appropriate orders.

The court had also issued notice to the advocate general to appear before it.

The reference raised five questions of law and set out 12 factual points in support of the request for the court's advisory opinion.

It was filed amid an ongoing dispute over the future of the reserved seats, with the JAAC demanding their abolition and announcing plans for a general strike and long march to press its demand.

According to the reference, a copy of which was available with Dawn, the controversy centred on the 12 seats reserved under Article 22 of the Constitution for refugees from Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir residing in Pakistan.

Six of the seats are allocated to the refugees from the Kashmir Valley, and the remaining six represent refugees from the Jammu region and Mangla Dam affectees.

The reference argued that the reserved seats provided representation to displaced state subjects and helped preserve the unity and identity of the entire erstwhile princely state pending the exercise of the right to self-determination envisaged in United Nations resolutions.

The first question sought the court's opinion on whether the refugee seats, or any other constitutional provision, could be altered or abolished through any means other than a constitutional amendment passed in accordance with Article 33 of the Constitution.

The second question asked whether the present Legislative Assembly, whose constitutional term was nearing completion ahead of the expected announcement of the election schedule, was competent to undertake such a fundamental constitutional amendment or whether the matter should be left to a newly elected legislature.

Through the third question, the acting president had sought the court's view on whether attempts to secure the abolition of the refugee seats through pressure tactics aimed at bypassing the constitutional amendment process would be compatible with the constitutional framework and the state's position on the Kashmir dispute.

The fourth question concerned the scope of constitutional guarantees relating to freedom of assembly and association and whether those protections extended to movements seeking to obstruct elections or compel constitutional changes outside the procedure prescribed by the Constitution.

The fifth question sought clarification on whether the AJK government was constitutionally bound to proceed with general elections within the prescribed timeframe and what lawful measures might be taken to maintain public order and safeguard the electoral process.

Referring to the JAAC, the reference claimed that of its 38 demands, all except the abolition of the refugee seats had been substantially addressed during negotiations with the governments of Pakistan and AJK.

The document also referred to previous protest movements in 2024 and 2025, stating that they resulted in disruptions to public life and incidents of violence, including the deaths of police personnel.

The acting president requested the Supreme Court to render its opinion on the questions at the earliest, citing the proximity of the general elections and the importance of preserving the constitutional process.

Tariq Naqash

 

AJK law officers barred from defending officials in contempt cases

In a major move aimed at curbing the misuse of state resources, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) High Court on Thursday barred the top law officers of the state from defending public servants facing contempt of court proceedings.

According to a circular issued by order of Acting Chief Justice Syed Shahid Bahar, government counsel—including the Advocate General, Additional Advocate General, Assistant Advocate General, and other state law officers—will no longer be permitted to appear or argue on behalf of alleged contemnors.

Legal observers said the directives was aimed at curbing a deep-rooted bureaucratic culture where state-funded legal teams were routinely deployed to shield delinquent public officials from judicial accountability.

The new rules, which apply immediately to all pending and fresh contempt cases across the High Court, also fundamentally tighten the requirements for personal appearance. Under the fresh directives, any official accused of contempt must appear in person on the very first date of the hearing.

Furthermore, the circular mandated that the contemnor would remain bound to attend every single subsequent hearing in person. The physical attendance requirement would only be waived if the High Court explicitly granted an exemption to the accused along with permission to be represented by a privately retained counsel.

The High Court registry directed all institutional branches, judicial officers, and state law officers to ensure strict and immediate compliance with the new regime.

Tariq Naqash

 

AJK voter count swells by over 580,000 since 2021 elections

                 The number of registered voters in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has increased by more than half a million over the past five years, according to fresh electoral rolls released by the region's Election Commission ahead of the upcoming legislative assembly elections.

The latest voter lists show that the electorate in AJK's 45 constituencies has risen to 3,804,385, up from 3,220,546 in the 2021 elections — an increase of 583,839 voters.

Of the total electorate, 3,365,839 voters are registered in the 33 constituencies within AJK, while 438,546 are registered in the 12 constituencies in Pakistan reserved for refugees from occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

In the 2021 elections, 2,817,090 voters were registered in the 33 territorial constituencies, while 403,456 were registered in the 12 refugee constituencies. The latter included 373,652 voters in six constituencies representing migrants from Jammu and 29,804 voters in six constituencies representing migrants from the Kashmir Valley.

According to the fresh electoral rolls, the 33 territorial constituencies with 3,365,839 votes have recorded a rise of 548,749 voters.

In the 12 refugee constituencies in Pakistan, the electorate in the six Jammu refugee seats increased by 31,296 voters to 404,948, while the six Valley refugee seats recorded an increase of 3,794 voters, taking their total electorate to 33,598.

Figures released by the commission showed that the overall electorate comprises 2,001,730 male voters and 1,802,655 female voters.

Among the territorial constituencies, LA-7 Bhimber-III has the largest electorate with 129,994 voters, followed by LA-31 Muzaffarabad-V with 128,177 voters and LA-12 Kotli-V with 126,332 voters. The smallest constituency is LA-30 Muzaffarabad-IV, with 68,228 voters.

Of the 33 territorial constituencies, six have electorates ranging between 120,000 and 130,000, five between 110,000 and 120,000, eight between 100,000 and 110,000, six between 90,000 and 100,000, three between 80,000 and 90,000, four between 70,000 and 80,000, and one has fewer than 70,000 voters.

Among the Jammu refugee constituencies, LA-37 Jammu-IV has the highest number of voters at 111,203, while LA-39 Jammu-VI has the lowest at 37,639.

Among the Valley refugee constituencies, LA-45 Valley-VI has the largest electorate with 7,681 voters, while LA-43 Valley-IV has the smallest with 3,346 voters.

For comparison, the total electorate in the 2016 elections stood at 2.6 million, including 438,884 voters in the 12 refugee constituencies in Pakistan.

The number of voters in the refugee constituencies had declined from 438,884 in 2016 to 403,456 in 2021. Despite the latest increase, the current figure of 438,546 remains 338 short of the 2016 electorate.

Tariq Naqash

MPC backs timely AJK polls, seeks consultative approach to constitutional reforms

A multi-party conference (MPC) convened by the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government on Wednesday reaffirmed support for holding the upcoming Legislative Assembly elections on schedule and declared that any constitutional reforms should be undertaken through the elected assembly following broad-based consultations with all stakeholders.

In a unanimously adopted resolution, the participants stressed that the general elections to the AJK Legislative Assembly should be held within the constitutionally prescribed timeframe and called for all necessary administrative, legal and security measures to ensure free, fair, transparent, impartial and peaceful polling.

The conference was held at the Prime Minister’s House and attended by Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore; ruling PPP president Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin; PPP leader and former premier Sardar Tanveer Ilyas; Leader of the Opposition and PML-N president Shah Ghulam Qadir; and his party secretary general Chaudhry Tariq Farooq, PML-N leader and former premier Raja Farooq Haider; Muslim Conference president and former premier Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan; former presidents Sardar Masood Khan and Sardar Yaqoob Khan; Jammu Kashmir Peoples Party president Sardar Hassan Ibrahim Khan; Jammu Kashmir Liberation League president Khawaja Manzoor Qadir; Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam emir Maulana Saeed Yousaf; Jamaat-i-Islami leader Noorul Bari; senior minister for law, justice and parliamentary affairs Mian Abdul Waheed; three other cabinet members; and representatives of several smaller political and religious parties. Refugee lawmakers Abdul Majid Khan and Ahmed Raza Qadri also attended.

The conference began later than scheduled after Prime Minister Rathore drove to the residence of Amjad Ali Khan, a core member of the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), to personally invite him to attend the meeting as a stakeholder. Some other JAAC leaders were also present there, but they declined the invitation.

The PTI, according to its spokesperson, was not invited, although its regional president and former prime minister, Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi, was invited in his capacity as a former premier.

Mr Niazi did not attend, accusing the ruling PPP and opposition PML-N of adopting an ambiguous position on the issue of refugee seats. He called for “meaningful talks for implementation of the agreement with JAAC” and warned against the use of force against the people.

Several participants addressed the conference, after which the resolution was drafted by Mr Qadir and senior minister Mian Abdul Waheed in consultation with other participants. The document was later read out by Prime Minister Rathore and unanimously adopted.

The resolution emphasised that voters should be able to exercise their right to vote without fear, pressure or interference and warned that any attempt to sabotage, delay, influence or derail the electoral process should be dealt with strictly in accordance with the law.

The conference also maintained that constitutional reforms fell within the exclusive mandate of the people's elected representatives and should therefore be left to the Legislative Assembly. However, it said any such exercise should be preceded by a broad consultative process involving political parties, bar associations, the Bar Council, civil society organisations and constitutional experts.

Addressing the contentious issue that has recently sparked political debate, the participants recognised the representation of Jammu and Kashmir refugees residing in Pakistan as a historical and constitutional reality. At the same time, they noted that electoral and procedural issues relating to the existing arrangement could be addressed through constitutional reforms carried out by the Legislative Assembly.

The resolution described the continuation of democratic and constitutional processes in AJK as the foundation of regional stability and reiterated a commitment to strengthening democratic institutions. While terming political dissent an essential feature of democracy, it stressed that differences of opinion should not be allowed to undermine governance or institutional functioning.

The conference also expressed concern over Indian attempts to exploit social media and organised propaganda campaigns to create mistrust between state institutions and democratic structures in AJK.

Reaffirming support for Kashmiris' right to self-determination under United Nations resolutions, the participants condemned human rights violations in Indian-occupied Kashmir, including the detention of pro-freedom leaders and political activists, and criticised efforts to alter the territory's demographic composition.

The conference also paid tribute to the sacrifices of Jammu and Kashmir refugees for the Kashmir cause and their support for accession to Pakistan.

PM’s press talk

Talking to reporters after the conference, Prime Minister Rathore confirmed his visit to the residence of a JAAC leader and said the government had addressed issues in accordance with its agreement with the committee.

“We sought additional time from them, but they were not willing to extend it even by a week. It seems that even if the refugee seats are abolished, the committee would still want to shut down the state,” he said.

Responding to a question, he clarified that no decision had been taken to stop JAAC by force.

“We [still] want to resolve issues through dialogue,” he said.

Tariq Naqash

 

Govt will not use force if JAAC takes to streets: Faisal Rathore

    Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore has said his government is making every effort to prevent the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) from taking to the streets again, stressing that the dispute over the 12 legislative assembly seats reserved for refugees from Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir should be resolved through negotiations and political consensus.

    Answering questions during a private television interview, Mr Rathore asserted that

 his government had made sincere efforts to implement the agreement reached with the action committee following last year's protest movement and had resolved almost all issues contained in its charter of demands.

    “Almost all demands included in the charter of demands were fulfilled, except for one relating to the abolition of refugee seats, which subsequently became the central issue around which the movement was revived,” he said.

    Referring to recent negotiations with JAAC, Mr Rathore said: “We have had very productive discussions with members of the Action Committee. However, the issue of abolishing refugee seats is a constitutional matter that cannot be decided by a single political party alone. It requires a broad consensus among all stakeholders.”

    “We wanted the JAAC to extend its call for protest, but they declined, although they agreed to keep the door for negotiations open until June 7,” he added.

    The prime minister said the issue had also been discussed with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and reiterated that the government did not want the state to face another period of unrest.

    “These people are our own. They certainly have the right to raise their concerns and it is our responsibility to listen to them and understand their point of view, and we are doing that,” he said.

    Mr Rathore maintained that decisions affecting the future of the state should be taken through representative institutions rather than through street agitation, adding that many JAAC members also favoured a negotiated settlement.

    Referring to the refugee seats controversy, he said it was often argued that these were open to manipulation because the elections were conducted under the influence of provincial governments. 

    He, however, said refugees had made significant sacrifices and played an important role in the state’s affairs and they could not be ignored under any circumstances.

    “Regardless of political interests or affiliations, the interests of the state must come first.”

    Mr Rathore said discussions had also included the possibility of reducing the number of refugee seats in view of the significant increase in the number of registered voters within AJK, while the number of voters in the refugee constituencies of Jammu and the Valley was comparatively lower.

    “We have not closed any door in this regard. We want to reach a mutually acceptable solution through negotiations and understanding,” he said.

    Responding to a question about the possibility of protests, the prime minister said the government would continue making every effort to ensure that the action committee did not take to the streets.

    “However, God forbid, if such a situation arises, we will strive to ensure that it remains peaceful and will not try to stop them through force or coercion. Rather, we will treat them respectfully, offer them cold water and take care of them,” he said.

    He warned that any confrontation would be detrimental to the state and could be exploited by India for propaganda purposes.

    “The state cannot afford any situation that compels it to use force against its own people. India, meanwhile, takes advantage of such developments and seeks to draw misleading parallels with public rights movements in Pakistan, thereby taking the discourse in a different direction,” he said.

    Tariq Naqash

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