PTI leaves door open for AJK elections

ISLAMABAD:

PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan on Monday indicated that the party could reconsider its decision to boycott the upcoming Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections if it is provided a level playing field and its leaders and workers are not subjected to arrests or crackdowns.

Speaking to reporters, Gohar said the boycott decision had been taken after consultations with the party's parliamentary wing, its allies and the PTI leadership in the AJK. He said the absence of a free political environment had left the party with no other option.

"The PTI was compelled to boycott the AJK elections, but in politics nothing is final. If we are provided a free and conducive environment, we can reconsider the boycott decision," he said.

He said the PTI believed in democracy and described the boycott as a difficult decision, adding that the party could return to the electoral process if its leaders and workers were spared arrests and crackdowns.

The remarks came four days after PTI formally announced it would not contest the AJK Legislative Assembly elections scheduled for July 27.

The party's regional president and former AJK prime minister, Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi, had said the decision was taken in solidarity with the people of the region amid what the party described as a deepening political and humanitarian crisis and was "not a political strategy."

The boycott followed weeks of unrest in AJK after the government banned the Joint Awami Action Committee (Jaac) under anti-terrorism legislation.

Jaac has continued protests despite the ban, while clashes between protesters and security forces have left several people dead, with authorities and the group giving differing accounts of the casualties.

The PTI has also cited the arrests of political workers, restrictions on media coverage and disruption of supply lines from Punjab as reasons why the upcoming election cannot be considered credible under the prevailing circumstances.

The party has suspended all recommendations regarding ticket distribution for its AJK candidates pending a review of the situation.

Meanwhile, the PTI's legal status in AJK also remains unresolved. The AJK High Court had earlier restored the party's registration and ordered the reinstatement of its electoral symbol, the bat, after the AJK Election Commission moved to revoke it.

The election commission subsequently challenged the high court's order before the AJK Supreme Court, which on July 3 deferred hearing of the case. With the court's summer recess continuing until October 7, the matter is unlikely to be decided before polling day.