3 cops among 9 killed in AJK protests

MUZAFFARABAD: The federal government has once again offered negotiations to the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC) amid ongoing protests, which claimed the lives of nine people, including three police personnel, while over 100 were injured.

“Ninety per cent of the committee’s demands have already been accepted […] federal ministers stand as guarantors to ensure implementation of these demands,” Federal Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said while addressing a press conference along with AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq.

Azad Kashmir witnessed an overwhelming shutdown and wheeljam strike on the second consecutive day, a day earlier, amid intermittent skirmishes between law enforcers and activists in the state capital, Muzaffarabad. Shops, hotels, and commercial centres across Muzaffarabad remained closed, while public transport disappeared from the roads. Although schools were officially open, classrooms were largely empty as students stayed home. The PAC has issued a 38-point charter of demands, including ending 12 reserved seats for refugees and rolling back “privileges of the elite”, The News reported.

Addressing the presser, Fazal explained that two demands required constitutional amendments in Azad Kashmir, including abolishing seats reserved for refugees in the Legislative Assembly and reducing the number of ministers. The minister emphasised that the government was still willing to negotiate openly on these two points.

Chaudhry argued that there was no need for protest in Azad Kashmir, as the majority of the demands had already been met. He slammed the action committee for taking the protest into a dead end, warning that protests would not deliver results nor provide a solution. He urged the action committee members to sit down for dialogue, reiterating that the government sought to resolve matters peacefully. “We do not want violence in Azad Kashmir, nor do we want our enemy to benefit from it,” Chaudhry said. The minister added that the prime minister had tasked him with holding talks with the action committee in Muzaffarabad to resolve the issues. He revealed that 12 hours of negotiations had already taken place, resulting in a written agreement. Action committee members, he said, had also sought corrections in the document, which were accepted.

Despite this, Chaudhry said, the action committee resumed protests on September 29, which were unnecessary. He warned that violent demonstrations would give India the opportunity to use such footage for its own propaganda.

Meanwhile, AJK Premier Haq also renewed the government’s invitation to talks, saying 90% of demands had been resolved and the remaining could also be discussed. He stressed that negotiations were the only civilised way to resolve disputes and insisted there was no benefit to continuing protests.

Haq confirmed that three policemen had been martyred and more than one hundred injured in the unrest, including eight critically wounded. He said the government placed equal value on the lives of both police and civilians. The prime minister added that the government was ready to resume talks from the point where they had stalled, and cabinet members were present in Muzaffarabad and Rawalakot for the purpose. He urged the action committee to stop agitation and return to the negotiation table, warning that inciting people through citizens would only push matters towards anarchy.

He further said that the unfortunate incidents, including the burning of a school building during protests, demonstrated why dialogue was essential. “Public rights are buried where human lives are lost,” Haq remarked. He also confirmed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had conveyed his willingness to personally listen to the action committee. After this assurance, Haq said, there was no justification for violent demonstrations. The Azad Kashmir premier added that the government was willing to consider reducing the privileges of the cabinet if required. He concluded that none of the committee’s demands were beyond solution through dialogue.