Tarar calls for dialogue as PPP seeks poll schedule withdrawal over AJK refugee seats row

• Information minister says differences must be resolved through democratic and constitutional means

• PPP AJK asks Election Commission to withdraw July 27 polling schedule for 12 refugee seats

• Yasin warns elections under current circumstances could deepen tensions, saying 37 of 38 JAAC demands implemented

• Leaders stress reconciliation, caution against unrest and external exploitation

 ISLAMABAD: Amid escalating tensions over the upcoming elections for the 12 refugee seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly and the PPP's call for withdrawal of the election schedule, Information Minister Ataullah Tarar on Sunday urged all stakeholders to resolve differences through democratic and constitutional means, stressing that AJK remained among Pakistan's foremost national priorities.

The refugee seats issue has emerged as a major point of contention between the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) and the AJK government, with the committee continuing to press its demand for the abolition of the seats reserved for refugees from Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir settled in Pakistan after 1947.

The dispute has intensified in recent weeks, prompting the PPP-led AJK government to proscribe the JAAC under the Anti-Terrorism Act amid an ongoing standoff over the issue.

Speaking to the media outside Parliament House, Tarar emphasized that elections remain the most effective democratic means of securing a public mandate and said matters concerning national interest and public welfare should take precedence over political considerations.

“Azad Jammu and Kashmir is at the top of Pakistan’s priorities and public welfare measures will continue in the region,” he said.

“The federation is committed to resolving public issues and accelerating the development of AJK,” he added, noting that substantial allocations had been earmarked in the upcoming federal budget for public facilities in the region, including the power sector.

While reaffirming citizens’ right to peaceful protest, Tarar stressed that no one would be allowed to take the law into their own hands.

“Everyone has the right to protest, but taking the law into one’s own hands cannot be allowed,” he said. “No opinion can be imposed by force. Peaceful protest is the right of every citizen, and differences should be resolved through dialogue.”

JAAC calls for protests

The JAAC has announced widespread protests against the July 27 elections for the 12 refugee seats, demanding their abolition.

The seats are elected separately from the 33 general seats of the AJK Legislative Assembly, with refugees registered in 12 constituencies across Pakistan voting for their representatives. The constituencies have long remained politically sensitive due to recurring disputes over voter lists, delimitation and constitutional amendments.

 PPP seeks withdrawal of election schedule

Earlier, addressing a press conference at Kashmir House after a meeting of the party’s core committee, PPP-AJK President Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin urged the AJK Election Commission to withdraw the election schedule for the refugee seats.

He argued that announcing the schedule shortly before JAAC’s protest call was not an appropriate decision and warned that conducting elections under prevailing circumstances could prove difficult.

“Under the current circumstances, holding elections appears difficult. The Election Commission should withdraw the schedule and move the consultative process forward. PPP is not in favour of any confrontation or clash. Twelve refugee seats cannot be more valuable than human lives,” Yasin said.

He stressed that dialogue and political consensus were essential to defuse tensions and address challenges facing the region.

Highlighting PPP’s longstanding commitment to the Kashmir cause, Yasin said the party had always placed the issue at the centre of its politics and recalled the international advocacy efforts of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.

He noted that over the past seven months, the government had implemented 37 of the 38 demands agreed upon with JAAC last October.

“Only the constitutional matter relating to refugee seats remained under consideration, for which alternative legal and constitutional avenues exist,” he said.

Yasin also expressed concern over shortages of essential commodities and growing uncertainty in the region, warning that hostile forces, particularly India, could seek to exploit the situation.

He was accompanied by Parliamentary Leader in the AJK Legislative Assembly Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob Khan, Senior Minister Mian Abdul Wahid, ministers Sardar Javed Ayub, Javed Iqbal Budhanvi, Sardar Ziaul Qamar, Chaudhry Qasim Majeed, Chaudhry Yasir Sultan, Mahrukh Taqdees Gillani and Prime Minister’s spokesperson Shaukat Javed Mir, among others.

 ‘Pave the way for reconciliation’

Speaking on the occasion, PPP parliamentary leader Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob Khan said it was imperative that the election schedule be withdrawn to create space for reconciliation.

“Elections are not more important than human lives. Hasty and ill-advised decisions have brought us to this point. PPP believes in democratic values and supports consideration of the public’s peaceful demands,” he said.

Senior Minister Abdul Wahid also called for urgent dialogue, saying AJK could not afford further tension and confrontation.

“Pakistan and Kashmir cannot be separated. Kashmiris’ love and attachment to Pakistan remains as strong as ever, and India can never succeed in creating a rift between Pakistan and the Kashmiri people,” he said.

Earlier in the day, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also urged the AJK Election Commission to withdraw what he termed the “premature election schedule” for the 12 refugee seats.