MUZAFFARABAD: Outlets and markets have been largely shut and vehicular site visitors remained minimal in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), on Tuesday because the newly proscribed Joint Awami Motion Committee (JAAC) noticed a strike.
In the meantime, AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore urged a return to the negotiating desk in a bid to finish the tensions which have gripped the area over the previous few days.
Throughout the day, Muzaffarabad’s streets have been abandoned, with hardly any automobiles on the roads. Riot police and paramilitary personnel remained deployed within the metropolis.
Nevertheless, no demonstrations have been witnessed within the capital.
In the meantime, reviews from Mirpur mentioned that tons of of individuals had gathered within the city’s Quaid-i-Azam stadium. “Outlets are closed right here and site visitors is off the roads,” native journalist Sajjad Jarral advised Daybreak by phone.
Witnesses in Kotli mentioned that whereas the realm noticed an entire shutter-down and wheel-jam strike, tons of of individuals led by JAAC core member Imtiaz Aslam have been heading in direction of Poonch district through Tatta Pani.
One other massive rally led by JAAC core member Khawaja Mehran from Dadyal additionally entered Kotli for onward march in direction of Poonch.
The authorized fraternity of AJK boycotted judicial proceedings on AJK Bar Council’s name to protest the alleged arrest of senior lawyer Amjad Ali Khan, a core member of the JAAC.
JAAC’s protest name for at this time centered on a extremely contentious demand to abolish the 12 seats within the area’s Legislative Meeting which can be reserved for refugees from Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir who settled in mainland Pakistan after 1947. JAAC alleges that these seats have been usually utilized by mainstream Pakistani political events to affect the formation of governments in Muzaffarabad.
The federal government, however, maintains that it’s a constitutional matter and can’t be determined by one group.
‘Find a way out through talks’
In a post on X, the AJK premier reiterated his call for the issue to be resolved through talks.
“Please come back to the negotiating table. I’m requesting everyone on a daily basis to resolve matters through discussions instead of fire and blood,” Rathore wrote on X.
He added that the protesters’ “abusive comments, constant threats and senseless agitation” were not helpful to anyone in AJK.
“A political activist without the ability to debate and negotiate is like a pilot without the ability to fly an airplane. They both end up causing hurt and damage to people behind them,” the PPP leader remarked.
“Everyone recognizes your rights and liberties,” the AJK PM assured, stressing that both sides needed to “remain calm and find a way out through talks”.
“The only weapon a political activist carries is his reasoning and negotiation skills,” Rathore said.
In an interview he shared on X, Rathore noted that the PPP, PML-N and the JAAC had their own stances on the issue of reserved seats for refugees, but he emphasized there was “space for a path forward”.
He remarked that protests by the JAAC could not secure a two-thirds majority in the assembly that was needed for a constitutional amendment, under which changes to refugee seats could be made.
HRCP expresses concern over ‘escalating confrontation’
Separately, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said it was “deeply concerned by the escalating confrontation” in AJK and the loss of life among both protesters and law enforcement personnel.
It urged an “immediate de-escalation of tensions and an impartial investigation into all deaths and injuries”.
“The state must remember that proscribing popular movements invariably risks narrowing democratic space. Demands for constitutional change should be pursued through peaceful, representative and democratic processes rather than confrontation and violence,” the HRCP stressed.
The HRCP had previously also expressed concern over the proscribing of JAAC.
On Friday, the AJK authorities declared JAAC a Proscribed group, stating that it was “engaged in terrorism” and had acted in a way “prejudicial to peace and safety” of the state. A day later, AJK authorities launched a crackdown on the JAAC, arresting scores of its leaders and activists from totally different areas.
However tensions within the area notably flared up after a violent protest in Rawalakot, throughout which no less than 4 regulation enforcement personnel and 7 civilians misplaced their lives.
Islamabad has additionally dispatched federal paramilitary forces to bolster the area’s thinly stretched police pressure, and intending guests have been suggested to postpone their journeys till June 20.
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