PML-N leader warns Islamabad against 'undermining' of AJK Constitution

MUZAFFARABAD: Senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Raja Farooq Haider on Monday opposed any proposal to abolish the 12 Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly seats reserved for refugees from India-held Jammu and Kashmir, and called on the government in Islamabad to stop what he described as interference in AJK’s constitutional structure.

Speaking at a gathering of party office-bearers, elected representatives and workers of LA-33, Muzaffarabad-VII, in Chinari, around 50 kilometres from Muzaffarabad, the former AJK prime minister said neither the AJK Legislative Assembly nor any other forum had the power to legislate in a way that could damage the Kashmir cause.

He said the assembly could not lawfully pass any measure, including one ending refugee seats, if it harmed that cause. He also urged Islamabad to restrain those who were, in his words, tampering with the AJK Constitution.

Mr Haider said his party was capable of responding to such developments, but did not want to create unrest or take any step that might benefit India. In remarks apparently directed at the Joint Awami Action Committee, though he did not name the group, he criticised those seeking to shape state affairs and constitutional arrangements without having secured an electoral mandate.

Referring to the next AJK elections, he said efforts to obstruct the constitutional process or press demands that challenged the existing constitutional framework amounted to betrayal of the Constitution. He also alleged that some elements were trying to reproduce in AJK a lieutenant-governor model similar to the one introduced in India-held Jammu and Kashmir.

"In my view, the Legislative Assembly does not have the authority to pass any law, including the abolition of refugee seats, that could cause any harm to the Kashmir cause," he said speaking on the issue.

"You did not contest elections, nor was any referendum held. How, then, have you acquired the mandate to make decisions on behalf of the state?" he also asked.

"We cannot betray the blood and mission of our martyrs," he added.

He criticised AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, saying neither he nor his ministers understood what was unfolding, and urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir to take notice of the situation.

Recalling the sacrifices made by Kashmiri refugees, Mr Haider said he was heir to a historic legacy and declared that, with public support, he would not allow anyone to separate refugees from the people of AJK. He warned that if refugee seats were abolished, demands could later emerge to strip refugees settled in AJK of their voting rights as well.

While acknowledging that there was public dissatisfaction with the performance of some lawmakers elected on refugee seats, he said political parties had at times nominated individuals whose conduct had fuelled resentment. He added, however, that this did not justify eliminating the reserved seats.

Reaffirming his commitment to the ideology of Pakistan and to Jammu and Kashmir’s accession to Pakistan, he said the government of Pakistan was constitutionally bound to ensure enforcement of law in AJK and warned that failure to do so would amount to a breach of trust. He also expressed confidence that the Election Commission would hold free, fair and impartial elections in AJK.

The meeting was also addressed by MLA Chaudhry Muhammad Rasheed, Mirza Asif, Sajawal Khan, Aslam Kazmi and Aftab Kayani. They backed Mr Rasheed’s decision to join the PML-N and pledged their support.