PPP-AJK urges election commission to withdraw polling schedule for 12 refugee seats amid unrest

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As protests continue to rock Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) over the fate of 12 refugee seats in the region's Legislative Assembly, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has stepped up its calls for de-escalation. The party's AJK chapter urged the region's election commission to immediately withdraw the election schedule for the 12 seats, while PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari appealed to protesters to end their demonstrations. The unrest has already claimed two lives, with eight others injured in clashes between protesters and law enforcement personnel in Rawalakot.

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The reports from Dawn paint a picture of a deepening political crisis ahead of the July 27 elections in AJK. The regional administration and the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) remain at odds, primarily over the JAAC's demand to abolish the 12 seats reserved for refugees from Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir who settled in mainland Pakistan after 1947. The JAAC has been declared a proscribed organisation by the regional government under the First Schedule of the region's anti-terrorism act, and authorities have launched a crackdown, arresting scores of its leaders and activists.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, speaking in the National Assembly, urged the JAAC to let the people of AJK decide the issue through the upcoming elections rather than pre-emptively. In a separate interview, Asif sparked controversy by saying that Rawalakot is "not Kashmir" and that he did not consider people from there Kashmiris—remarks he later clarified on X, stating that "Kashmiriat" is defined by sacrifices and struggles, not birth certificates.

The PPP took strong exception to Asif's statement, with PPP's Raja Pervaiz Ashraf calling it "irresponsible" and apologising on the minister's behalf to the people of Rawalakot. Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari criticised the remarks as "irresponsible" and suggested that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif should have the mandate and authority to control his team.

Efforts to find a political solution continue. Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon, chairman of the National Assembly's Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir, has requested a meeting with NA Opposition Leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai to discuss the situation in AJK. The meeting, as reported by Dawn, would focus on the Kashmir dispute, the volatile situation, and ways to strengthen Pakistan's diplomatic and parliamentary efforts.

Key Claims

• Two killed, eight injured in Rawalakot clash: According to Dawn, two people were killed and eight others injured in a clash between protesters and law enforcement personnel in Rawalakot.
• PPP calls for withdrawal of election schedule: The PPP's AJK chapter, led by President Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin, urged the election commission to immediately withdraw the schedule for the 12 refugee seats, citing the need for dialogue. Yasin noted that the government had implemented 37 out of 38 demands from an October agreement with the JAAC, with only the constitutional matter of refugee seats remaining.
• Defence Minister's position: Khawaja Asif argued that the JAAC should not pre-emptively decide the issue of refugee seats and should let the people decide through elections. He also said that Kashmiri refugees had paid a "heavy price" and that the JAAC had no right to demand the "taking away of their right to vote."
• JAAC's protests: The JAAC has been holding nightly gatherings at the Eidgah Ground in Rawalakot, as reported by Dawn.
• Election mechanics: The 12 refugee seats are held separately from the 33 general seats in AJK, with refugees registered in 12 constituencies across Pakistan voting for their representatives.