MUZAFFARABAD:
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday promised greater constitutional rights to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), renewed his call for the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission to address the recent unrest in AJK and urged the federal government to immediately restore internet services.
Addressing a public gathering in Kotli ahead of the July 27 AJK elections, Bilawal said the PPP would seek observer representation for AJK in Pakistan’s major constitutional institutions, including the Council of Common Interests (CCI), the National Finance Commission (NFC) and the National Assembly.
Presenting the PPP’s election manifesto, Bilawal said his party stood for “the right to rule, the right to property and the right to employment”, adding that AJK’s natural resources belonged to its people.
He said his proposal called for protesters to suspend their demonstrations, while the state would suspend any action until an independent investigation finalizes its findings.
Calling for dialogue, Bilawal said neither protesters nor government officials had responded to the proposal and called on the federal government to restore internet services, saying ordinary citizens of AJK should not suffer from the conflict.
The PPP chairman also accused his political rivals of victimizing his party members through police cases and expressed confidence that PPP candidates would achieve victories in Kotli district.
According to him, the AJK elections on July 27 will determine whether the people approve of the PPP’s vision to increase political rights and economic opportunities in the region.
The PPP chairman said the party had prioritized loyal workers while selecting candidates for the elections.
“When the party was studying the candidates, I asked the
leadership to put our loyal workers first,” he said.
Referring to the selection of the candidate for LA-13, Bilawal said the decision was simple. “It was not difficult to choose between a newcomer and Matloob Inqalabi’s son,” he said, adding that Inqalabi dedicated his life to the PPP and his son is now carrying on his legacy on the party list.
Recalling the previous elections, Bilawal said the PPP contested in much tougher circumstances, when the PML-N was in power in Azad Kashmir and the PTI was ruling at the centre. Despite these challenges, he said, the people of Kashmir have placed their trust in the PPP.
He said the political landscape had changed since then, with the PPP in power in Azad Kashmir for the last six months and the PML-N at the helm of the federal government, making the current election campaign different from the previous one.
Bilawal said the manifesto he presented to the people had
has already received support from voters in Gilgit-Baltistan. He said he had introduced the same three principles in Kashmir: the right to rule, the right to property and the right to employment.
