TTAP urges AJK PM to step down

Says people of Kashmir are demanding an end to 12 reserved seats for refugees

ISLAMABAD:

The Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Aaeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) on Thursday voiced concern over the ongoing unrest in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), calling for the territory's prime minister to step down.

A strike has brought life to a standstill in AJK amid a communications shutdown after negotiations between the JAAC, the AJK government, and federal ministers over elite perks and reserved refugee seats broke down, triggering unrest and clashes.

Addressing a news conference in the federal capital on Thursday, TTAP Senior Vice President Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said the people of Kashmir were demanding an end to the 12 reserved seats for refugees, which he alleged were being used by the establishment and Islamabad for political engineering. "In light of the ongoing unrest in Kashmir, the prime minister of Kashmir should immediately resign."

Speaking on the occasion, PTI leader Asad Qaiser said they condemned the violence in AJK.

He said 21 operations were conducted in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, including Fata, yet terrorism was not eliminated, but it continued to grow.

"An intelligence network must be established. Intelligence-based operations are acceptable, but wiping out entire villages is not. TTAP opposes military operations," Qaiser said.

"I urge the provincial government to pay heed to [the advice of] Imran Khan. Imran Khan has repeatedly said there should be no operation. We have decided that under no circumstances will we allow any operation to take place. We will go there ourselves and stand with the people," he added.

Qaiser noted that the TTAP would convene its leadership and hold provincial organisational meetings in Sindh and Balochistan to devise a countrywide strategy.