1,505 Islamabad police officers deployed to AJK ahead of JAAC’s June 9 protest call

ISLAMABAD:

A total of 1,505 Islamabad Police personnel were deployed in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Friday in view of a protest call by the Awami Joint Action Committee (JAAC) for June 9, as authorities decided to step up security measures in the region ahead of the upcoming AJK elections, a spokesperson confirmed.

According to police spokesperson Taqi Jawad, the deployment was approved by Islamabad Inspector General of Police Nasir Rizvi as part of a special security plan to maintain law and order.

The move comes hours after the AJK Election Commission announced that the general elections for the AJK Legislative Assembly would be held on July 27. The commission added that preparations were underway to ensure transparent, orderly and impartial elections under judicial supervision.

The contingent includes senior officers as well as field formations, with a deputy inspector general, two senior superintendents of police and four superintendents of police among those sent to oversee field operations. The force also comprises eight assistant superintendents of police/assistant superintendents of police, 16 inspectors, two sub-inspectors, 70 assistant sub-inspectors and 1,382 constables, forming a multi-tier security structure.

Jawad said personnel are deployed with full riot gear, while units from the Anti-Terrorism Department, Safe City, Operations and Security divisions have also been included in the deal.

Security has been placed on high alert across Azad Kashmir due to the Awami Joint Action Committee’s protest call, with reserve forces kept on standby for further deployment if necessary.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said in an article on

“Democratic thinking demands that those who make this request present it to the public on July 27,” he said, adding that voters should be allowed to decide and “shape the form of representation.”

He warned that making such demands before the vote would otherwise be seen as “blackmail”, arguing that electoral matters should be settled by a democratic mandate.

Referring to the representation of Pakistan-based constituencies, Asif said Sialkot City and Tehsil alone return one AJK Assembly seat, while two National Assembly seats also exist in the region, with other constituencies spread across Pakistan.

Read: JAAC boycotts APC as parties reject proposal for refugee seats in AJK Assembly

He highlighted the presence of a large number of Kashmiri migrants, especially from Jammu, saying they had settled in Sialkot after the partition of 1947, at a heavy human cost. “In October 1947, more than two hundred thousand migrants arrived in Sialkot town and Tehsil after sacrificing their lives,” he said, adding that many families endured decades of hardship and deprivation of basic facilities. “How can you deprive these migrants of their rights? » he asked, stressing that they had “paid a very heavy price for freedom”.

Asif said those expressing concerns should pursue their goals through “a democratic route” to ensure acceptance of their views.

Conflict over refugee seats resurfaces in AJK

The 53-member AJK Legislative Assembly has 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 lopsided arrangement that many see as unfair.

The issue of refugee representation has long been a key demand of the JAAC, which last year led a series of protests that turned violent and resulted in the deaths of several people.

The region experienced one of its most turbulent periods in October last year, when JAAC-led protests erupted demanding constitutional and governance reforms. At least nine people, including three police officers, were killed during the unrest.

The JAAC, which organized the protests and strike, had presented a broad charter of demands, including an end to the privileges enjoyed by the ruling elite, the removal of 12 assembly seats reserved for refugees and the abolition of the quota system.

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

The unrest also sparked political upheaval in the region. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) subsequently proposed a resolution of no confidence in then Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) joining the effort. Haq, elected in April 2023 with 48 votes, chose to face the vote rather than resign.

On 17 November, Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore received 36 votes in the elections and became the 16th Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

With elections approaching and the refugee seat issue still unresolved, the AJK government has convened an All Party Conference (APC) in Muzaffarabad to reach a consensus. Almost all major parties were present – ​​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 and therefore there would be no point in attending. He had proposed either maintaining token representation of refugees until the Kashmir conflict is finally resolved or replacing the 12 seats in the Assembly with 4 seats in the AJK Council – a body chaired by the Prime Minister, which he said 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 change the distribution of refugee seats. The JAAC called the resolution “a page and a half of utterly trivial lines” and accused participants of coming together to serve their own interests rather than those of the public.

The JAAC called a major demonstration on June 9 in Muzaffarabad, with caravans converging from across the region.