Kashmir committee chief seeks meeting with Achakzai over AJK situation

ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Chairman Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon has asked Opposition Leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai to meet him at the earliest to discuss the situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), according to a letter that surfaced on Monday.

In the letter, Qasim referred to Achakzai’s role in national politics and his continued engagement on issues of national importance. He said the proposed meeting would cover the Kashmir dispute, the current volatile situation in AJK, and ways to reinforce Pakistan’s diplomatic, parliamentary and international efforts in support of the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination.

Qasim also said Achakzai’s experience, leadership and views on foreign policy would be useful in shaping a coordinated national strategy to project the Kashmir issue at regional and international forums. He requested that a suitable date and time for the meeting be conveyed to his office at the earliest.

Tehreek-i-Tahaffuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan spokesperson Akhunzada Hussain Ahmad Yousufzai told Dawn that Achakzai had decided to consult opposition parties, particularly the alliance itself, before responding to the request.

“After getting input from the parties, a collective decision will be made regarding a meeting with Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon,” he said.

AJK tensions and refugee seats issue

The development comes as the AJK administration and the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) remain in dispute over several matters, most prominently the committee’s demand that 12 seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly reserved for refugees from Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir who settled in mainland Pakistan after 1947 be abolished.

Before the July 27 elections in AJK, the JAAC had called for large-scale protests over the reserved seats. Voting for these seats is held separately from the 33 general seats in AJK, with registered refugees in 12 constituencies across Pakistan electing their representatives.

These seats have long remained politically contentious because of disagreements over voter lists, delimitation and constitutional amendments. On June 5, the regional government declared the JAAC a proscribed organisation and placed it on the First Schedule of the region’s anti-terrorism law.

A day later, AJK authorities began a crackdown on the group and arrested scores of its leaders and activists from different areas. Separately, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has urged the committee to allow the people of the region to decide whether the 12 refugee seats should be abolished.

Cross-party outreach

The correspondence indicates that the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir has been reaching across party lines on the Kashmir issue. The latest move reflects an effort to engage opposition leadership as debate continues over the political situation in AJK and the future of the refugee-reserved seats.