On the appeal of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, today’s call from the Joint Public Action Committee for a complete shutdown, wheel jam and cordon in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, has full support of various nationalists, organizations, businessmen’s associations, civil society and political parties from across Azad Jammu and Kashmir. By reaching Muzaffarabad, the Committee workers associated with (on their own) significant numbers will demonstrate their strength to fulfil their long-standing demands. However, the Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Chaudhry Anwarul Haque has ordered a large number of law enforcement forces from the federal government, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Punjab to stop the protest. It has already started in Dadyal a day ago, however, the top of Dadyal is waiting for a volcano to erupt on such occasions. Vibration will occur.
The leaders of the political parties have urged the Prime Minister to use any kind of violence and obstruction to stop the protests of the protesters, have urged the protesters to resolve the issues through negotiations and have told their workers that peaceful protests are theirs. Apparently, it seems positive, but it is a negative activity of vandalism, encirclement, burning and nationalism. ‘Don’t be a part of property damage and Pakistan and Pakistan forces’ slogans’ are appealing superficially, but when demonstrations and violent actions start, how is it possible to control anyone in such gatherings? This is what happened earlier in Dadial, and it is said that the situation is getting even tenser. The wrong strategy of the administration cannot be ignored. Even when it is operational, it is characterised mostly by the loss of the administration. Since the demands of the Joint Action Committee/Charter of Demand, which have been promised to them several times and government notifications have also been issued, have seen little progress in implementation, today it turns out that this sensitive region is suffering from tension in the same month of Azad Jammu and Kashmir when the elected local body representatives have also given the government a deadline of May 20 to allocate development funds in the budget of Azad Kashmir for the local bodies and give them powers according to the law, otherwise they will also be on the streets and the legislative assembly in Muzaffarabad, and the capital will be surrounded.
The Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir has a special skill in his speeches and self-cleaning to the extent of giving very meaningful and effective talks, and he considers his position as the Prime Minister as a gift from God and a great blessing for the people, but he shows limited concern for the people’s problems and has no interest in solving them. Instead of paying attention to the immediate problems, vigil at night and office and the capital during the day is a clear manifestation of his unavailability.
The political parties of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, whether they are local or a branch of the political parties of Pakistan, are practically unrelated and ineffective after the establishment of the current government, as if it is a manifestation of ignorance. The reason for this is the manner in which the current prime minister was appointed with 48 votes in the House of 53 at 3 o’clock in the night in the month of Ramadan He was elected as the prime minister, which is no less than a political miracle in the history of Azad Kashmir. He could not get even five votes. If he had tried and these five were present in the assembly premises at that time, there would have been no objection to the witness saying Allahu Akbar, a sign that this was the intention of God.
As far as federal governments are concerned, the prime minister at the time, Mr. Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, had almost doubled the development budget during his tenure of 2013/18 to make the government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir equal to the provinces. During the Tehreek-e-Insaf era also, the abundance of development funds was no longer there, but the financial matters that are decided as a policy are more or less followed by the bureaucracy and the finance department. During the first term of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s PDM Regime, Finance Minister Mr. Ishaq Dar and later the Caretaker Government and even then Azad Kashmir Government did not face any problem of lack of funds, but at that time the political situation of Azad Kashmir was critically precarious As anti-Pakistan trends are growing so fast, if in time attention is not paid to them, then the public witness will not be able to correct the situation later. Anyway, unless the forces in Pakistan, who had fulfilled the duty of bringing Imran Khan forward, later they could not bottle-up their own genie, or the genie that is being produced by them, reflect on the situation seriously, incidents similar to that are happening now in Azad Kashmir are going to happen.
While Azad Jammu and Kashmir has a special strategic position, the political and social mood of the people here also have demonstrated a slightly united and resistant mindset.
Azad Jammu and Kashmir, where Pakistan is geographically and strategically encircled, this region is the only region of its kind where the inhabitants of the region preferred to become a part of Pakistan, instead of choosing a separate independent state for themselves in 1947, although at that time the state’s interests used to suit the Maharaja too that indeed created his rebel government. They are the pioneers of independence, but the Akbars and soldiers of Azad Kashmir who, with their war experience and skills, fought the war of independence but also the war of annexation to Pakistan with their participation in the first and second world wars, today promote negative and anti-Pakistan trends in this region. Respected by the lords of the government of Pakistan, for the masters of knowledge and wisdom, there should be a moment of concern. The leadership and think tanks of Pakistan are required to realize as to which direction the situation is heading. Just like pigeons will close their eyes without thinking of strategies to avoid the cat, the result of current situation will not deviate from the tradition. According to the United resolutions, the right to self-determination was to be closed. Despite the fact that work has been started on exemplary and unique development projects there, despite the fact that the Kashmiris, who have made the history of unprecedented sacrifices in history, are now suffering from hesitation, which will be well understood from the upcoming election results of India. The “burden” of Pakistan has been removed, but our back is still there. It has become more and more difficult that we are not able to handle the economy or democracy. That’s why Pakistan’s rulers, leaders of war and war should not ignore the situation and events of Azad Kashmir so much that they are not able to open the knots of their hands with their teeth.
If the Prime Minister believes that with the support of Muqtadara and the serious increase in privileges and favors of the MLAs, he will continue to follow the policy of keeping the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and their demands and problems at the tip of the shoe. They also have a crude imagination and apart from increasing the deterioration of the situation due to the negligence of those responsible for addressing people’s, nothing will happen.
What is the reason that people have been on the streets for the whole year for their demands and problems and the promises made as a result of negotiations with them are not being fulfilled. This is the time of digital fabric. People know at the tip of their fingers what subsidies are available to Kashmiris in Occupied Kashmir and what facilities are available to the people of Gilgit-Baltistan here in Pakistan. has been abolished and the subsidy of 20 billion is being given on flour. The population of Azad Kashmir is around 45,400,000, of which more than 15,000,000 live abroad or in Pakistan. What does this mean for Kashmiris where fuel adjustment charges, sales tax and other taxes go? And why do they seem to demand a slightly higher bill than the production rate? They demand the end of billions of rupees privileges and luxuries of the elite on the population of 20/25 lakhs and to invest these funds in the construction and development of this region. And that is why they are protesting and have adopted rebelling tendencies against this system.
In movements, especially resistance movements, it is not necessary that they remain under the control of the leadership and progress in the right direction. Sometimes, an unseen force can use these movements, and it is not possible to suppress them by force. Calling the Frontier Constabulary incited the people earlier. The consequences of what is being attempted can be serious. Our people, especially the people of Poonch Division, are also irritated by these terms and the reaction is in their blood. It should be considered like setting fire to gunpowder. Our advice to common friends is to understand the sensitivity of the situation and not rely on any “Aristotle or Plato”.
The writer is a Supreme Court lawyer and former member & Chairman Standing Committee of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council. Islamabad