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