MUZAFFARABAD:
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday proposed greater constitutional empowerment for Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), including representation in key institutions such as the National Finance Commission (NFC), Council of Common Interests (CCI) and the federal cabinet.
Bilawal formally launched the party’s election campaign for the upcoming AJK general elections at a public rally in Dadyal in support of PPP candidate Afsar Shahid for LA-1 Dadyal. He urged voters to elect PPP to represent the voice of Kashmir at the regional, national and international levels.
Outlining the PPP’s constitutional agenda, Bilawal reiterated the party’s motto of “right to govern, right to property and right to employment”, saying these principles would remain central to its program for AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).
He announced that the PPP would convene constitutional conventions in both regions after the elections to seek input from stakeholders on future constitutional and legislative reforms. “Azad Kashmir should have stronger representation in national institutions including NFC and ICC,” he said.
He further proposed that AJK should eventually have its own foreign minister to represent the territory in the federal cabinet. “Kashmir’s political leaders should serve as a bridge between the people, Islamabad and the international community,” he added.
Bilawal called the upcoming elections “the most important in the history of AJK” and said the polls offered the people of AJK the opportunity to entrust the PPP with the representation of their aspirations. “The legacy of PPP founders Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto was built on supporting the oppressed.” Referring to the prevailing situation in AJK due to protests by the illegal Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), Bilawal reiterated his proposal for the establishment of a ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission’ to address the grievances of all stakeholders.
He said he had responded to a letter from protesters, suggesting that once the commission was established, they should end their sit-in while the state should suspend coercive measures until it completed its work. He added that neither the protesters nor the authorities had responded to his proposal.
He said the prevailing situation in the region posed a critical test for the political leadership. “When political crises arise, apolitical and extremist elements exploit the vacuum,” Bilawal said, questioning what alternative would be left if dialogue is rejected.
