- Sanaullah rejects claims that refugee seats were used for rigging.
- The PML-N leader reiterates the right to peaceful assembly.
- JAAC sought exclusion of AJK government from talks: AJK PM.
Adviser to Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Saturday alleged that external elements were funding the banned Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), saying the banned group rejected multiple offers aimed at peaceful resolution of disputes.
speaking in Geographic news‘Jirga’ programme, Sanaullah said the banned group had never before demanded abolition of 12 refugee seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Assembly.
“They [JAAC] “He made the demand in October 2025 along with the other 38 demands and agreed to the formation of a committee on this matter,” he said.
On June 5, the AJK government declared JAAC a proscribed organization under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), saying the group was involved in terrorism.
The ban was imposed days before the banned group’s planned protest on June 9 seeking the abolition of 12 seats in the AJK reserved for refugees from Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) who migrated to Pakistan after 1947.
Speaking during today’s programme, Sanaullah said that the banned JAAC had this time raised a new demand, asking for removal of the declaration stating that Kashmir will accede to Pakistan after independence, from the pledge that was to be signed for the AJK Assembly elections.
Upon investigation, it was revealed that external actors, including members of the Pakistani diaspora in the UK, were funding the banned group, he added.
According to the PML-N leader, the federal government offered a number of options to the banned group to resolve the dispute over refugee seats, including a referendum, an all-party conference and referring the matter to the AJK Assembly for a decision.
However, the banned JAAC rejected all options, insisting on continuing with its June 9 protest, he said.
Sanaullah rejected allegations that the refugee seats were used for manipulation, saying that the seats are reserved for those who have emigrated from IIOJK.
“If they remove the refugees from the Jammu Valley, what will happen to their IIOJK freedom movement?” asked.
Reiterating the right of the public to assemble peacefully, Sanaullah said no one has the right to take up arms and occupy Islamabad or Muzaffarabad.
AJK’s situation “not good”
On the other hand, AJK Chief Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore said that the situation in the region was not good and described it as a test for the State.
“I certainly won’t say that the situation in Azad Kashmir is good,” he said in an interview with Geographic news.
Rathore maintained that the lives lost during the JAAC protests carried an immense human cost and could not be ignored.
Referring to past negotiations with JAAC, he said lives were also lost during previous talks with the banned organisation.
According to the AJK Prime Minister, the banned group did not pay attention to his comments in the past and sought to exclude the AJK government from the reconciliation process.
Rathore regretted that criticism was being directed at the AJK government despite the JAAC’s demand to negotiate only with the federal government.
Referring to the previous agreement with the banned group, he stated that the commitments made by the AJK government have been fulfilled.
