ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): A high-level meeting chaired by the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed that there will be no compromise on refugee seats in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and the writ of the state.
According to the sources, the premier was given a detailed briefing by the government’s negotiation committee tasked to negotiate matters with the Jammu and Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC).
Sources said that the meeting discussed the call for the June 9 protest by the JAAC and the negotiations held in Muzaffarabad on May 30.
Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, Opposition Leader Shah Ghulam Qadir, and other political leaders from the PPP and PML-N also attended the meeting.
The development came a couple of days after the government’s negotiators, comprising federal ministers, held talks with JAAC to convince the latter to cancel the June 9 strike, which ended without a breakthrough.
Furthermore, during the meeting, it was agreed that elections will be conducted according to the constitution and the previously announced schedule, without any deviation, sources said.
All Parties Conference called on June 3
Meanwhile, the All Parties Conference (APC) of the state’s political parties has been summoned in Muzaffarabad on June 3, where the parties are expected to present their formal positions on the demand for the abolition of 12 seats of refugees residing in Pakistan in the AJK Assembly and other demands of the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC).
It is pertinent to mention that negotiations were held between the Federal Negotiation Committee and the Joint Awami Action Committee in Muzaffarabad on Saturday. However, the Action Committee did not give up on its demand to abolish the 12 seats of the refugees and maintained the call for protest on June 9.
“Today, we held talks with the representatives of the governments of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir throughout the day on all issues, including the 12 refugee seats,” JAAC core member Shaukat Nawaz Mir told reporters after the talks ended at 11:20 pm.
“Despite the breach of trust, we had detailed discussions, and proposals were exchanged as well,” he said, adding that government representatives had requested them to postpone the planned strike, but we have decided to keep our strike call intact.
