MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): The first round of the negotiations between the government and the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) ended in Muzaffarabad on Thursday without any agreement.
However, government sources said that the talks have made significant progress, with a consensus reached on 90% of the demands.
According to the negotiators, the talks will resume tomorrow at 12 noon in the capital of Azad Kashmir. Discussions will resume with the participation of all negotiating members of the JAAC.
The action committee was represented in today’s meeting by Shaukat Nawaz Mir, Advocate Anjum Ali, and Anjum Zaman.
As per details, JAAC leader Shaukat Nawaz Mir has left for Dhirkot for consultation with core members of the committee. “Next course of action will be announced after the mutual consultation,” Mir added.
The talks between the high-level committee formed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and protestors are aimed at resolving the ongoing unrest in Azad Kashmir.
From the government’s side, Prime Minister of AJK Anwarul Haq, federal ministers Rana Sanaullah, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Ahsan Iqbal, Sardar Yousaf, Kashmir Affairs Minister Amir Muqam, Former President of AJK Masood Khan, and PPP leaders Raja Pervez Ashraf and Qamar Zaman Kaira participated.
The development came days after the Awami Action Committee staged a state-wide shutdown strike and protest, demanding the fulfillment of their charter of demands.
The strike paralysed the state as the government imposed a communications blackout after initial talks collapsed last week between the JAAC, the AJK government, and federal ministers.
Earlier to the negotiations, AJK PM Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, talking to the media, thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz for issuing directives for sending a high-level delegation for restarting talks.
He expressed the hope that members of the JAAC would also work toward ending the impasse in negotiations between the two sides.
