Muzaffarabad:
Negotiations between Jammu Cachemir joint of the Awami Action Committee (JAAC) and a team from the Federal Government temporarily blocked Thursday, despite high-level efforts to defuse the current crisis in Azad Jammu-et-Cachemire (AJK).
The federal delegation, including high -level political figures Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanaullah, Amir Muqam, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and others, arrived in Muzaffarabad for discussions with the leaders of Jaac Amjad Ali Khan, Shoukat Nawaz Mir and Anjum Zaman Awan.
However, MIR announced that talks would not continue as long as the government has raised the communication failure and restored mobile and internet services. He added that the Committee needed more internal consultations before resuming discussions later Thursday evening.
Speaking of the Muzaffarabad media, government negotiators, notably Ahsan Iqbal, Amir Muqam and Qamar Zaman Kaira, seemed optimistic about obtaining a friendly solution to the continuous situation of the territory.
“The dialogue was held in a constructive environment, the two parties listened to each other carefully,” said Amir Muqam, member of the team and federal minister of cashmere, told the media after the meeting.
Kaira described the situation as “serious and worrying”, but stressed that the government was with the people of the AJK for their legitimate requests. “The problems must be solved at the table, not in the streets. Our wish is clear: to resolve this crisis through dialogue, not confrontation.”
The AJK is paralyzed by a protest strike called by JAAC to put pressure for its various requests. Wednesday, violence broke out between demonstrators and the police in several places, killing at least nine dead – including three police officers – according to the AJK government.
The Prime Minister of AJK, as well as the Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, addressed a joint press conference on Wednesday, urging Jaac to engage in dialogue. They warned that violence would resolve nothing and would only lead to other blood effusions.
The team went to Muzaffarabad on the instructions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who expressed a deep concern concerning the climbing of the situation at the AJK, according to a press release from the Prime Minister’s media wing.
To defuse tensions, Shehbaz sent a high -level negotiation committee responsible for looking for immediate and long -term solutions. He called on people to remain peaceful, assuring them that the government was ready to tackle their grievances, according to the press release.
“The delegation includes the senior leaders of PML-N Rana Sanaullah, Ahsan Iqbal, Amir Muqam, Dr Tariq Fazal Charthry and Sardar Yousaf, as well as the leaders of the PPP Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Qamar Zaman Kaira and the former president of Ajk Sardar Masood Ahmed,” continued. The committee would present its recommendations without delay, he added.
Shehbaz has ordered organizations responsible for applying laws to exercise restraint, show patience and respect public feelings. “Unnecessary strength must be avoided,” he said, while calling for transparent investigations on “unfortunate incidents” reported during demonstrations. He also ordered immediate relief for families affected by disorders
Meanwhile, convoys from all over the AJK converged Muzaffarabad into long marches. A convoy of Rawalakot reached Kohala, but the tensions have evolved when the demonstrators met roadblocks near Dulai, where the road had been unearthed to hinder their advance.
Overall, the situation has remained volatile, with contradictory victims. The government confirmed nine dead after Wednesday violence – six civilians and three police officers from Islamabad. However, JAAC said that the number of deaths among the demonstrators exceeded 11. Due to the continuous communication failure, these figures could not be verified independently.
International rights defense groups have also expressed their concern. Amnesty International has urged the government to protect the right to the peaceful assembly, to refrain from excessive force against non -violent demonstrators and to immediately raise communication restrictions.
Adding to the troubles, Islamabad police repressed a solidarity demonstration in front of the National Press Club by the Rawalpindi-Islamabad chapter of Jaac and the lawyers of the cashmere. Witnesses pointed out accusations and stick arrests, the police have even changed the doors of the press club.
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif launched a separate appeal for calm in Ajk. In an article on X, he reminded demonstrators the sacrifices of several decades made by three generations in Indian illegally occupied the Jammu and the Kashmir (Iiojk).
“What you have today is much more than what they could even imagine,” he said, pointing to those who had spent lives in prisons, faced bullets and kissed martyrdom in search of freedom. He added that the armed forces of Pakistan – Punjabis, Pachtounes, Sindhis, Baloch, Gilgitis and Baltis – had all shed blood in the wars of cashmere.
(With application input)
