Govt, 'protesters' must agree to formation of a truth commission to resolve unrest in AJK, demands Bilawal

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Tuesday demanded that the government and the “protesters” agree to the formation of a truth and reconciliation commission to resolve ongoing tensions in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). The PPP has repeatedly called for the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission amid protests in AJK. Over the past month, the regional administration and the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) have been at odds over various issues, most notably the committee’s demand to abolish the 12 seats in the region’s Legislative Assembly, which has resulted in protests across the region. Addressing a gathering of party workers in Muzaffarabad amid ongoing elections in the region, the PPP chairman said: “It is necessary that during these historic elections, we restore peace and maintain fairness and transparency. To honour the future of Kashmir and Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir, this is not about anyone’s victory or defeat. The state and the protesters will have to accept this recommendation from the PPP.”

Bilawal said he had been campaigning for the formation of the commission for the past month. “All the state had to do was form a truth and reconciliation commission and task it with discerning the truth, and the protesters would have been asked to halt their protests until the commission presented its findings,” he said. However, he recalled that neither party had been willing to “back down”. “What will then become of my innocent Kashmiris, who have no connection to either the protestors or the government?” he added. Bilawal maintained that the unrest could have been resolved “peacefully and without endangering anyone”, and went on to accuse the state of prioritising “PML-N’s interests over that of Kashmir”. “I understand their pain, whether they are right or wrong [..] I feel for their mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers,” he said, urging that the protestors cannot be punished on the street. “If you want to take action, investigate and form a commission, which will then tell you who is the murderer and who is whose agent; this issue cannot be resolved on the street.” On AJK polls The PPP chairman began his address with a saying by Roman philosopher Tacitus: “To robbery, butchery and rapine, they give the lying name of ‘government’; they create a desolation and call it peace.” He said that the saying reminded him of the current situation in AJK. “What is happening here, from Mirpur to Poonch, can we call it democracy?” Bilawal went on to claim that the PPP was leading the race in Mirpur in the elections despite the count being presented and expressed gratitude to the people of Mirpur. According to preliminary results issued by the AJK Election Commission (Forms-26 and Forms-27), the PML-N has emerged as the winner in nine constituencies, while the PPP could secure only four seats. It should also be mentioned that scuffles, violence and allegations of rigging have marred the polling process in AJK, with the PML-N and PPP accusing each other of electoral malpractice. Later in the day, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz hit back at the PPP, urging it to accept defeat in the Mirpur poll.

“It is our responsibility to honour their votes; We will neither back down nor bow before anyone. We will reclaim every single one of our votes,” Bilawal said in Muzaffarabad, as he levelled rigging allegations at the opponents. “We have a 100 per cent vote in Mirpur, and we are willing to take it back,” Bilawal warned. He questioned how PPP candidate Chaudhry Yasin could have lost his native constituency, terming the outcome “unacceptable”. “If they think we will let them steal our mandate in Mirpur and Kotli, then they are gravely mistaken,” he remarked. Bilawal accused the PML-N workers of seizing polling stations and “throwing out polling agents” and complained that despite the alleged violence, relevant authorities chose not to intervene. He also questioned the objective behind holding the election in three phases, stating, “You did not conduct the election in phases to maintain transparency but to ensure rigging and steal PPP’s mandate”. “You seized 30 polling stations in Chaudhry Yasin’s constituency, 10 in Chaudhry Ikhlaq’s, martyred Mukhtar Younis, fired bullets and attempted to spread fear among the AJK public,” Bilawal said. “Every child in Kashmir knows that PPP has the mandate and we will not give up on the stolen votes,” he warned. At this, Bilawal called on the state to make a decision: “What will be the state’s priority? National interest or PML-N’s interests?” He continued: “It seems to me that every decision made by the state prioritises the PML-N and not the national interest, which is harming Kashmir, and we can no longer remain silent.” He demanded that the government should “open its eyes”. “This is Azad Kashmir; we will never let it become maqbooza Kashmir. Do they want Poonch to look like maqbooza Kashmir, that the conditions in Mirpur be such that 30 polling stations are seized, bullets are fired, workers are martyred, and the internet is shut down. If that is the case, then this will not look azad but maqbooza,” Bilawal said. He called on party workers to work hard to ensure PPP’s win, expressing worry: “I would be very concerned for the future of AJK in case someone else comes into power.” He held that while the PPP was a peaceful party, it would not tolerate workers “being killed and polling stations forcibly seized”. “We want to stay peaceful, but remember that I am the son of President Zardari, I am also Mir Shahnawaz Bhutto and Mir Murtaza Bhutto’s nephew, and I want to follow Shaheed Benazir Bhutto’s politics but do not tempt me,” he warned.