PTI Chairman Advocate Gohar Khan. PHOTO: TWITTER
ISLAMABAD:
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.
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. 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.
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, it was 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 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 for the last 40 years under the existing system 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.
