PM Shehbaz meets President Zardari and discusses polls in GB and situation in AJK

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari discussed the recent elections in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and the disturbing situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) in a meeting on Monday.

According to a statement issued by the Presidential House, the two leaders also discussed national security, the economy, the next federal budget and the regional situation.

“The discussions also covered the recent elections in GB, the law and order situation in AJK and other matters of national importance,” the statement said.

The statement added that when discussing budget proposals and public relief measures, President Zardari highlighted the need to prioritize public welfare, provincial rights and economic stability in the next federal budget.

“The president directed that all efforts be made to align the growth rate and public welfare plans in the upcoming budget,” he said.

During the meeting, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi briefed the president about his recent visit to Iran and latest regional diplomatic engagements.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister Ishaq Dar, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Advisor to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah.

Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, AJK Prime Minister Raja Faisal Rathore and other political leaders were also present.

The meeting came in the wake of deadly clashes in AJK’s Rawalakot, where the recently banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) had been staging a sit-in in front of the Combined Military Hospital, Rawalakot. AJK Police allege that armed JAAC members opened fire on law enforcement forces deployed in a planned attack, leaving four personnel dead and around 20 injured. JAAC, however, disputes this version, stating that security forces used tear gas and fired projectiles towards the hospital.

According to the AJK police, three people linked to the JAAC and four law enforcement officials were killed during the protests on Sunday. JAAC, however, said in a statement on

Sunday’s clash came as the AJK government and JAAC witnessed a clash as the AJK election date was announced for July 27.

AJK’s 53-member legislative assembly includes 12 seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees, people who fled Indian-controlled Kashmir in 1947 and 1965 and are now scattered across Pakistan. Six seats represent refugees from the Jammu division (~434,000 people) and six from the Kashmir Valley (~30,000 people), an already imbalanced arrangement that many consider unfair.

The region witnessed one of its most turbulent periods in October last year, when protests led by the JAAC broke out over demands for constitutional and governance reforms. At least nine people, including three police officers, died during the riots.

The JAAC, which organized the protests and strike, had put forward a wide-ranging charter of demands, including an end to the privileges enjoyed by the ruling elite, the abolition of 12 assembly seats reserved for refugees, and the elimination of the quota system.

Two days after the violence, the government and the JAAC reached an agreement covering 12 basic and 13 additional points. Under the agreement, both sides agreed to constitute a high-level committee to examine the issue of refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly.

Read more: Four police officers martyred, more than 20 injured in Rawalakot shooting: AJK police

The unrest also sparked political unrest in the region. The PPP subsequently moved a no-confidence resolution against then Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz joined the effort. Haq, who had been elected in April 2023 with 48 votes, preferred to face the vote rather than resign.

On 17 November, Rathore secured 36 votes in the elections and became the 16th chief minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

With elections approaching and the issue of refugee seats still unresolved, the AJK government called an All Parties Conference (APC) in Muzaffarabad to build consensus. Almost all major parties attended, except the PTI and JAAC, which boycotted it.

The JAAC’s position is that the government had already rejected its written proposals submitted on May 30, so attending would be futile. He had proposed maintaining symbolic representation of refugees until the Kashmir dispute is permanently resolved, or replacing the 12 assembly seats with 4 seats in the AJK Council, a body chaired by the Prime Minister, which he claimed would better preserve the political dimension of the Kashmir cause.

The APC rejected any changes outside the constitutional and legislative framework, saying only the elected assembly could alter the seating arrangement for refugees. The JAAC called the resolution “a page and a half of absolutely trivial lines” and accused participants of coming together to serve their own interests and not those of the public.

The JAAC called for a large protest for June 9 in Muzaffarabad, with caravans converging from across the region.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry on Sunday rejected claims that the agreement with JAAC had not been implemented and said the government had fulfilled the vast majority of its commitments in AJK.