Bilawal seeks greater powers for AJK

Proposes representation in NFC, CCI and federal cabinet

MUZAFFARABAD:

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday proposed greater constitutional empowerment for Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), including representation in key institutions such as the National Finance Commission (NFC), the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and the federal cabinet.

Bilawal formally launched the party's election campaign for the upcoming AJK general elections at a public rally in Dadyal in support of PPP candidate Afsar Shahid for LA-1 Dadyal. He urged voters to elect the PPP to represent Kashmir's voice at the regional, national and international levels.

Outlining the PPP's constitutional agenda, Bilawal reiterated the party's slogan of the "right to rule, right to ownership and right to employment", saying these principles would remain central to its programme for AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B).

He announced that the PPP would convene constitutional conventions in both regions after the elections to seek stakeholders' input on future constitutional and legislative reforms. "Azad Kashmir should have stronger representation in national institutions, including the NFC and the CCI," he said.

He further proposed that AJK should eventually have its own foreign minister to represent the territory in the federal cabinet. "The Kashmiri political leaders should serve as a bridge between the people, Islamabad and the international community," he added.

Terming the upcoming elections "the most significant in AJK's history", Bilawal said the polls offered the people of AJK an opportunity to entrust the PPP with representing their aspirations. "The legacy of the PPP founders, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto, was rooted in standing with the oppressed." Referring to the prevailing situation in AJK because of the protests by the outlawed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), Bilawal reiterated his proposal for the establishment of a "Truth and Reconciliation Commission" to address the grievances of all stakeholders.

He said he had responded to a letter from the protesters, suggesting that once the commission was established, they should end their sit-in while the state should suspend coercive measures until it completed its work. He added that neither the protesters nor the authorities had responded to his proposal.

He said the prevailing situation in the region posed a critical test for political leadership. "When political crises emerge, non-political and extremist elements exploit the vacuum," Bilawal said, questioning what alternative remained if dialogue was rejected.