Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry on Monday called on the recently proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) to abandon its alleged violence and adopt constitutional means to achieve its demands. He stated that while there were no direct talks ongoing with the group, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir premier was welcome to try to resolve the matter indirectly.
Rising Tensions in AJK
Tensions have been escalating in AJK following recent deadly clashes that have led to competing narratives over casualties, governance grievances, and political legitimacy. Official sources have confirmed at least seven deaths. Officials said that despite claims of peaceful intent, certain elements have continued to engage in violent activities. The same elements, they added, have previously been involved in damaging public property and attacks that resulted in the martyrdom and injuries of security personnel.
Minister's Call for Peace
Addressing a press conference outside Parliament House, Chaudhry urged the JAAC to refrain from adopting a violent course of action and instead resolve issues through dialogue and negotiations. He emphasised that disputes should be settled through peaceful engagement rather than confrontation. “Now that the JAAC is outlawed, the government is not conducting direct negotiations with the committee.” Nevertheless, Chaudhry said that the government would have "no reservation" if AJK Prime Minister Faisal Rathore, who he described as a "dynamic youth" and very active amid the situation, attempted to resolve the matter in an indirect manner.
“There should be no violence. There should be no loss of life,” he said, and once again called on the JAAC to abandon the path of resistance and confrontation. "Definitely, a path will be found that will be of peace and well-being."
Government Steps to Address Concerns
Speaking about the sit-in, the minister asked the demonstrators to give peace a chance, as loss of lives “revolving around the issue of 12 seats” was incomprehensible and irrational. He said the government had taken significant steps to address the concerns of protesters, claiming that at least 35 of their 38 demands had been fulfilled. The federal minister explained that the lapse of three demands was based on the pendency of the issue in court.
Describing measures undertaken to bring about stability in the region, Chaudhry highlighted that the government terminated 170 first information reports (FIRs) against the protesters and compensated the families of those who lost their lives on equal footing as that of law enforcement officials. He also said that the government offered jobs to the aggrieved family members of the victims who passed away on the day of the protest.
“We have reduced the size of the AJK cabinet from 36 to 20 as per the agreement that was reached between the conflicting parties while accepting demands that were quite unnegotiable,” the minister underscored, adding that ministries had also been reduced from 32 to 22.
Issue of Refugee Seats
In the matter of the issue of 12 migrant seats, Chaudhry urged the JAAC to seek political, legislative or judicial discourse, highlighting that the provision was protected under the interim constitution of AJK. He lamented that the call for the long march was not postponed by the JAAC despite repeated requests from the government, eventually leading to violence and unrest in the valley. “Four law enforcement agency personnel, including one from the Frontier Corps (FC), lost their lives in the unrest,” he recalled. Chaudhry further said that the scenes witnessed in AJK were deeply distressing for its residents, as well as all Pakistanis.
Political Reactions
A day ago, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, whose party is in power in AJK, appealed directly to protesters and urged them to end their demonstrations peacefully and bring their protest activities to a “peaceful conclusion”. He warned that the situation was creating an “unnecessary opportunity” for hostile actors and the “India-Israel nexus” to exploit developments for their own purposes.
Background of the Unrest
The recent unrest and deadly clashes broke out in areas, including Rawalakot, where the JAAC had been holding a sit-in outside the Combined Military Hospital Rawalakot. AJK police allege that armed JAAC members opened fire on deployed law enforcement in a planned attack, leaving four personnel dead and around 20 injured. JAAC, however, disputes this account, claiming security forces used tear gas and fired shells toward the hospital. According to the AJK police, three individuals linked to the JAAC and four law enforcement personnel were killed during the protests. JAAC, however, said in a statement on X that seven individuals were killed and dozens were injured when street firing was carried out in the dark after electricity was allegedly cut off. The clash came as the AJK government and the JAAC witnessed a face-off, as the election date for AJK was announced for July 27.
Electoral and Governance Issues
AJK's 53-member legislative assembly includes 12 seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees — people who fled Indian-controlled Kashmir in 1947 and 1965 and are now scattered across Pakistan. Six seats represent refugees from the Jammu division (~434,000 people) and six from the Kashmir Valley (~30,000 people) — an already lopsided arrangement that many see as unfair. The region witnessed one of its most turbulent periods in October last year when protests led by the JAAC erupted over demands for constitutional and governance reforms. At least nine people, including three policemen, were killed during the unrest. The JAAC, which organised the protests and strike, had presented a wide-ranging charter of demands, including an end to the privileges enjoyed by the ruling elite, the abolition of 12 assembly seats reserved for refugees, and the scrapping of the quota system.
Two days after the violence, the government and the JAAC reached an agreement covering 12 core and 13 additional points. Under the accord, both sides agreed to constitute a high-level committee to examine the issue of refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly.
Political Upheaval
The unrest also triggered political upheaval in the region. The PPP subsequently moved a no-confidence resolution against then Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz joining the effort. Haq, who had been elected in April 2023 with 48 votes, chose to face the vote rather than resign. On Nov 17, Rathore secured 36 votes in the election and became the 16th prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
With elections now approaching and the refugee seat issue still unresolved, the AJK government convened an All Parties Conference (APC) in Muzaffarabad to build consensus. Almost every major party attended — except PTI and the JAAC, who boycotted it. The JAAC's position is that the government had already rejected its written proposals submitted on May 30, so attending would be futile. It had proposed either keeping symbolic refugee representation until the Kashmir dispute is permanently resolved, or replacing the 12 assembly seats with 4 seats in the AJK Council — a body chaired by the Prime Minister, which it argued would better preserve the political dimension of the Kashmir cause. The APC rejected any changes outside the constitutional and legislative framework, saying only the elected assembly could alter refugee seat arrangements. The JAAC called the resolution "a page and a half of utterly trivial lines" and accused participants of gathering to serve their own interests rather than the public's.
