PTI rejects AJK polls, seeks judicial probe into violence

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on Wednesday rejected the recent elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), calling the electoral process a “fraud” and condemned the violence in the region, which it said was sending a wrong message internationally and harming the Kashmir cause.

Reports of multiple deaths and injuries in Rawalakot, Mirpur and other areas have emerged on social media since Monday. Several videos circulating online showed scenes of unrest, with reports of violence and victims, although the details could not be independently verified. Both the security forces and the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) took the toll on both sides.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and opposition parties on Tuesday called for an impartial and independent investigation into reports of deaths and injuries.

Addressing a press conference alongside PTI Chairman Advocate Gohar Ali Khan, former AJK Chief Minister Sardar Qayyum Niazi said Kashmiris were being subjected to unprecedented oppression and brutality.

“Kashmiris are being crushed in a way that is unprecedented. These are the same Kashmiris who passed the resolution in favor of accession to Pakistan on July 19, 1947, even before Pakistan existed,” he said.

Read: AJK police say JAAC works on a ‘specific agenda’, accuse protesters of using automatic weapons

He said the protesters had made every effort to reach an agreement, but when they realized that their demands were no longer being heard, they announced a protest for June 9.

“They are peaceful people and they remain peaceful even today. Tell me, was any member of our forces shot dead or beaten with batons there? These people are taking bullets, but they continue to be peaceful,” he said.

Questioning the decision to hold elections in three phases, Niazi said AJK had a population of only 3.5 to 4 million.

“Pakistan has a population of 250 million and is holding elections in a single phase. What is the need for three phases here? What kind of design is being implemented in Kashmir?” asked.

Niazi alleged that they were killing protesters in Kashmir and making their bodies disappear. He urged the authorities not to treat Kashmiris in such a manner, saying that AJK was the base camp of the Kashmir freedom movement and the prevailing situation was sending a wrong message to the world.

“We used to send Kashmiri delegations all over the world. We used to sit at the United Nations and in front of the UK Parliament to highlight the atrocities being committed against Kashmiris in occupied Kashmir. Today, we are no longer in a position to show our faces because of what is happening in Azad Kashmir,” he said.

Read also: PPP criticizes AJK Election Commission, says it is ‘equally responsible for fraud’ during elections

Lashing out at the government over violence in the region, Niazi urged authorities to change their approach, saying AJK could not tolerate the use of force to suppress those who speak out.

“Force should never have been used there,” he said.

“The eyes of the entire world are fixed on Kashmir. Our eternal enemy India is advancing its narrative of Akhand Bharat before the world. Do we want to hand over Kashmir to it on a platter? We must change this approach,” the former prime minister said.

He said the PTI had boycotted the elections because it knew they would be “controversial and pre-arranged”, claiming that it had already been decided that the government would hand over to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and that the existing system would continue in the same way.

Niazi called the polls “fake” and demanded the formation of a national government in the region until the situation returns to normal, after which free and transparent elections should be held in which the PTI would also participate.

He stated that the people of AJK had categorically rejected the recent elections and urged the authorities to handle the matter with utmost care and resolve it through dialogue.

“Kashmiris are Pakistanis and their hearts beat with Pakistan. Some people are creating misunderstandings. There are no terrorists there. They are the same people who, until yesterday, were sitting on the other side of the table presenting their demands. When the situation deteriorated, they suddenly became terrorists,” he said, appealing to the authorities not to aggravate the situation further and instead work to restore normalcy.

Meanwhile, Gohar criticized the recent electoral process and alleged that the July 27 elections were “a fraud” on the people of the region.

“The elections held on the 27th were witnessed by all of you. In the name of the elections, they were a fraud. Now everyone will have to accept that using bullets and batons, repressing the people, silencing them and preventing them from protesting is not the solution to the problems. Listening to the people is democracy,” he stated.

Condemning the recent situation in AJK, Gohar also criticized the Pakistan Peoples Party and the PML-N for politicizing the issue.

“We openly declared that there were dead bodies lying there, people covered in blood and that the political parties were doing politics. One congratulated the other, while the other complained that the elections had been rigged against them,” he said, adding that the two parties remained in power under the existing system for the last 40 years and lost in their respective provinces.

He said that the low voter turnout in the elections reflected the people’s rejection of both parties.

“Such a low turnout reflects a vote of no confidence in the entire system and in these two parties. It is a referendum against them,” Gohar said.

Describing the prevailing politics as driven by personal interests, he said it was harming the cause of Kashmir and urged all stakeholders to act wisely.

“Kashmir is very sensitive. Every Kashmiri is Pakistani and every Pakistani is Kashmir. Kashmir will not become Kashmir or Lahore. Kashmir is the jugular vein of Pakistan and will remain its jugular vein and we will not allow its cause to come to any harm,” he said.

Gohar said his party condemned the bloodshed and shooting at people during the recent elections, rejected the July 27 elections and demanded a judicial inquiry into the incidents.

He also demanded the immediate cancellation of the remaining two phases of the elections, scheduled for August 2 and 10, called for the resignation of the AJK government and sought the formation of a national government.

“We demand that the national government proceed wisely, embrace dialogue, listen to the people’s problems and take necessary measures,” he said, demanding free, fair and transparent elections across AJK in a single phase under the supervision of an independent and impartial electoral commission.