Kashmir parliamentary committee chairman requests meeting with Achakzai to discuss AJK situation

ISLAMABAD: The chairman of the National Assembly’s (NA) Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir, Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon, has requested NA Opposition Leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai to spare the time for a meeting discussing the situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), it emerged on Monday.

The regional administration and the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) remain at odds over various issues, most notably the committee’s demand to abolish the 12 seats in the region’s Legislative Assembly that are reserved for refugees from Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir who settled in mainland Pakistan after 1947.

In a letter addressed to Achakzai, Qasim wished to meet him at the earliest, citing the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) leader’s role in Pakistan’s political landscape and his continued engagement on matters of national importance.

He stated that the proposed meeting would focus on the Kashmir dispute, the prevailing volatile situation in the region, and ways to strengthen Pakistan’s diplomatic, parliamentary, and international efforts in support of the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination.

Qasim emphasised that Achakzai’s experience, leadership, and insights on foreign policy issues would be valuable in developing a coordinated national strategy to highlight the Kashmir issue at the regional and international levels.

He requested that a suitable date and time for the meeting be communicated to his office at the earliest.

Tehreek-i-Tahaffuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP) spokesperson Akhunzada Hussain Ahmad Yousufzai, while talking to Dawn, said that Achakzai had decided to discuss the meeting’s matter with opposition parties, particularly the TTAP.

“After getting input from the parties, a collective decision will be made regarding a meeting with Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon,” he said.

The correspondence shows that the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir has been making efforts across party lines to highlight the issue of Kashmir.

Ahead of the July 27 elections in AJK, the JAAC had called for widespread protests demanding the abolition of 12 seats in the region’s Legislative Assembly reserved for refugees from Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir who settled in mainland Pakistan after 1947.

Elections for these seats are held separately from the 33 general seats in AJK, with refugees registered in 12 constituencies across Pakistan voting for their representatives. The seats have long been politically sensitive due to disputes over voter lists, delimitation, and constitutional amendments.

On June 5, the JAAC was declared a proscribed organisation by the regional government and placed under the First Schedule of the region’s anti-terrorism act. A day later, AJK authorities launched a crackdown on the JAAC, arresting scores of its leaders and activists from different areas.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has urged the committee to let the people of the region decide whether the 12 refugee seats should be abolished.