Centre-JAAC talks end without breakthrough as June 9 strike remains in place

MUZAFFARABAD: A lengthy round of talks between a federal ministerial delegation and the core leadership of the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) concluded late on Saturday without an agreement, after which the committee said its planned strike on June 9 would go ahead.

The discussions were held to persuade JAAC to withdraw the strike call and to address its charter of demands. The meeting lasted for more than nine hours, with breaks in between, and has added to concerns about the political situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), where general elections are expected in the last week of July, although the election schedule has not yet been announced.

Speaking to reporters after the talks ended at 11:20pm, JAAC core member Shaukat Nawaz Mir said the committee had discussed all matters with representatives of the governments of Pakistan and AJK, including the issue of the 12 refugee seats.

"Today, we held talks with the representatives of the governments of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir throughout the day on all issues, including the 12 refugee seats,"

Mir said proposals were exchanged despite what he described as a breach of trust, and added that government representatives had asked JAAC to defer the strike. He said the committee had decided to maintain its call for the protest, while also indicating it remained willing to continue engagement.

"Despite the breach of trust, we had detailed discussions, and proposals were exchanged as well,"

"But we have decided to keep our strike call intact,"

Refugee seats remain key unresolved issue

Participants said 37 of the 38 points in JAAC’s charter of demands came under discussion during the first session, which began shortly before 2pm and continued until 4pm. The only issue left unresolved was the proposed abolition of 12 legislative assembly seats reserved for Pakistan-based refugees from India-held Kashmir, which remained the central obstacle in the negotiations.

The PML-N’s AJK chapter is opposed to scrapping those seats, partly because it expects to do well in the 10 refugee constituencies located in Punjab. The PPP, which currently has the backing of five refugee lawmakers, is seen as less committed to keeping the existing arrangement.

The second session resumed at 6:10pm and continued until 11:20pm. The federal team included Rana Sanaullah, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and Ahsan Iqbal from the PML-N, along with former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and former minister Qamar Zaman Kaira representing the PPP. Also present were AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, PPP regional president Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin, PML-N regional president Shah Ghulam Qadir and the party’s regional secretary general Chaudhry Tariq Farooq.

Minister for Kashmir Affairs Amir Muqam did not attend. His absence came after repeated JAAC demands that he be kept out of the process over allegations of bias. Members of the federal delegation said he was occupied with matters related to the Gilgit-Baltistan elections.

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

Government says dialogue process will continue

After the meeting, Rana Sanaullah said the process had not collapsed and that contacts would continue. He said the talks had taken place in a constructive atmosphere and that proposals had been shared by both sides.

"The negotiations have absolutely not failed; this process will continue,"

According to Sanaullah, the AJK government and the opposition PML-N have agreed to call an all-parties conference on the situation and on JAAC’s demands. He said another round of talks was expected on June 6 or 7 after that conference, and expressed confidence that the matter would be settled before the elections, which he said would be held in line with the Constitution.

The failure to reach an immediate understanding has intensified worries that a prolonged agitation could disrupt preparations for the upcoming polls in AJK. Political observers believe continued unrest may complicate the electoral process.