MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): The post-1989 Jammu and Kashmir refugees have demanded their representation in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly with the allocation of two dedicated seats.
Ameer Working Committee J&K Refugees 1989 Uzair Ahmed Ghazali said in a letter to the head of the High Power Committee for Electoral Reforms in AJK, Raja Pervez Ashraf.
He requested that two seats be allocated in the Legislative Assembly, including one for refugees from Jammu and Kashmir and one for refugees from the Kashmir Valley.
In a letter, Ghazali, who also serves as Chairman Pasban-e-Hurriyat J&K, stated that after 1989, due to the freedom movement that started in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, thousands of Kashmiri families migrated to the AJK.
“Today, despite the passage of more than 36 years, these refugees are living in various refugee settlements and rented houses, and are suffering from political and social deprivation.”
The letter further stated that approximately 26,000 refugee votes are spread across 14 constituencies of Azad Kashmir, limiting the community’s collective political influence and reducing its ability to secure effective representation in the Legislative Assembly.
The refugee representatives contend that even though the annual budget of AJK has exceeded Rs 310 billion, many members of the migrant community continue to face challenges related to education, healthcare, housing, employment, and basic infrastructure.
They argue that direct representation in the Assembly is necessary to effectively advocate for these issues.
It further added the 1989 refugees as stakeholders in the Kashmir freedom movement who left their homes and properties due to the freedom movement.
“But unfortunately, they have not been provided with a permanent platform to make their voice heard in the Assembly to date.”
The refugee leader Ghazali said that this move will not only provide political representation to thousands of Kashmiri refugee families but will also be a means of effectively addressing their fundamental rights, welfare, and issues related to the Kashmir freedom movement in the Assembly.
