MUZAFFARABAD:
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday promised greater constitutional rights for Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), renewed his call for setting up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address AJK’s recent unrest and urged the federal government to restore internet services immediately.
Addressing a public rally in Kotli ahead of the July 27 AJK elections, Bilawal said the PPP would seek observer representation for AJK in Pakistan’s key constitutional institutions, including the Council of Common Interests (CCI), the National Finance Commission (NFC) and the National Assembly.
Presenting the PPP’s election agenda, Bilawal said his party stood for the “right to govern, the right to property and the right to employment”, adding that AJK’s natural resources belonged to its people.
He said his proposal called for protesters to suspend demonstrations, while the state halted actions until an independent investigation completed its conclusions.
Urging dialogue, Bilawal said neither protesters nor government representatives had responded to the proposal and called on the federal government to restore internet services, saying ordinary people of AJK should not suffer due to the dispute.
The PPP president also accused his political rivals of victimizing his party workers through police cases and expressed confidence that the PPP candidates would achieve victories across Kotli district.
He said the AJK elections on July 27 would determine whether people would support the PPP’s vision of greater political rights and economic opportunities in the region.
The PPP chairman said the party had given priority to loyal workers while selecting candidates for the elections.
“When the party was considering candidates, I indicated to the
leadership to prioritize our loyal workers,” he said.
Referring to the selection of the candidate for LA-13, Bilawal said the decision was easy. “It was not difficult to choose between a new member and Matloob Inqalabi’s son,” he said, adding that Inqalabi had dedicated his life to the PPP and that his son was now continuing his legacy on the party list.
Recalling the previous elections, Bilawal said the PPP had contested in much more difficult circumstances, when the PML-N was in power in Azad Kashmir and the PTI ruled at the centre. Despite such challenges, he said, the people of Kashmir had reposed their trust in the PPP.
He said the political landscape had changed since then, with the PPP ruling Azad Kashmir for the last six months and the PML-N leading the federal government, making the current election contest different from the previous one.
Bilawal said that the manifesto he had presented to the people had
has already received support from voters in Gilgit-Baltistan. He said he had brought the same three principles to Kashmir: the right to rule, the right to property and the right to employment.
