AJK refugee seats cannot be abolished by executive orders: Sanaullah

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Wednesday said certain elements were seeking to create instability in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) ahead of the upcoming elections, despite repeated offers of dialogue and negotiations by the government.

Responding to a point raised by the opposition leader in the Senate, Sanaullah said the government had accepted 37 of the 38 demands raised by the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), adding that the only outstanding issue concerned refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly, which could not be abolished by executive orders.

The advisor said Pakistan would continue to support the cause of Kashmir and the rights of the Kashmiri people, adding that peace and stability in AJK would be maintained in accordance with the law.

Last week, the AJK government banned the JAAC, accusing it of being involved in terrorism, promoting hatred and creating anarchy in the state. The ban followed the committee’s call for a protest on June 9. The organization previously led mass protests demanding economic aid and political rights, with some demonstrations ending in violence and deaths during clashes with law enforcement authorities in May 2024 and September 2025.

Read: Rs 10 crore reward announced for arrest of four JAAC leaders

Sanaullah, in today’s Senate session, said the action committee had emerged in 2023 with demands related to electricity tariffs and wheat subsidies, adding that the government had already addressed the committee’s main demands by providing electricity at Rs 4 per unit, subsidized wheat and a relief package of Rs 23 billion for the region.

Briefing the Senate about the negotiations with the committee, the adviser said the government remained engaged with the committee for several months and through negotiations reached decisions on most of its demands, he added.

“One of the demands was the abolition of 12 refugee seats and that those elected to those seats should not be appointed ministers or receive quotas in government jobs,” he said.

Sanaullah argued that if refugee representation in AJK was abolished, the movement behind the demand would come to an end, although he noted that Shaheed Maqbool Bhat was a refugee.

He said a Rs 23 billion package was approved after talks with protesters, while a written agreement was later signed after negotiations on 37 of the committee’s 38 demands.

The advisor said the only unresolved issue concerned refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly.

“Those seats represented displaced families from Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and could not be abolished by executive orders,” he said.

Ranasanaullah said the government had proposed several options, including consultations between political parties, constitutional review, parliamentary consideration and legal forums, but the proposals were rejected.

He added that all AJK political parties, the AJK Legislative Assembly and other constitutional forums had supported the position that refugee representation should remain part of the constitutional framework.

Read also: AJK police say 3 JAAC members killed in clashes in Rawalakot, several injured

The advisor further said that the action committee was aware that the elections would be held before August 4 and alleged that its objective was to prevent the electoral process from taking place.

Tarar supports continuation of AJK refugee seats

Meanwhile, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar defended the continuation of refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly, saying they were linked to the Kashmir cause, and urged the opposition to start consultations with the government on the appointment of the chief election commissioner.

Speaking at the National Assembly, Tarar said the action committee had demanded the abolition of 12 refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly. He said an all-party conference held in Kashmir had agreed that any constitutional amendment should be decided by the assembly.

He maintained that refugee seats continued to exist because of their connection with the Kashmir cause. He said a reference had been sent to the Supreme Court, while the AJK High Court had directed the next assembly to decide the matter.

The minister also alleged that recent events were influenced by external factors, saying that audio recordings had emerged indicating who was behind them. He claimed that India had not been able to tolerate Pakistan’s response.

Background

The recent riots and deadly clashes in areas including Rawalakot where the recently banned JAAC had been staging a sit-in in front of the Rawalakot Combined Military Hospital. AJK Police allege that armed JAAC members opened fire on law enforcement forces deployed in a planned attack, leaving four personnel dead and around 20 injured. JAAC, however, disputes this version, stating that security forces used tear gas and fired projectiles towards the hospital.

According to the AJK police, three people linked to the JAAC and four law enforcement officials were killed during the protests on Sunday. JAAC, however, said in a statement on

Sunday’s clash came as the AJK government and JAAC witnessed a clash as the AJK election date was announced for July 27.

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 imbalanced arrangement that many consider unfair.

The region witnessed one of its most turbulent periods in October last year, when protests led by the JAAC broke out over demands for constitutional and governance reforms. At least nine people, including three police officers, died during the riots.

The JAAC, which organized the protests and strike, had put forward 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 elimination of the quota system.

Two days after the violence, the government and the JAAC reached an agreement covering 12 basic and 13 additional points. Under the agreement, both sides agreed to constitute a high-level committee to examine the issue of refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly.

Read more: Four police officers martyred, more than 20 injured in Rawalakot shooting: AJK police

The unrest also sparked political unrest in the region. The PPP subsequently moved a no-confidence resolution against then Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz joined the effort. Haq, who had been elected in April 2023 with 48 votes, preferred to face the vote rather than resign.

On 17 November, Rathore secured 36 votes in the elections and became the 16th chief minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

With elections approaching and the issue of refugee seats still unresolved, the AJK government called an All Parties Conference (APC) in Muzaffarabad to build consensus. Almost all major parties attended, except the PTI and JAAC, which 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. He had proposed maintaining symbolic representation of refugees 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 he claimed 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 the seating arrangement for refugees. The JAAC called the resolution “a page and a half of absolutely trivial lines” and accused participants of coming together to serve their own interests and not those of the public.