AJK refugee seats cannot be abolished through executive orders: Sanaullah

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Wednesday said certain elements were seeking to create instability in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) ahead of the upcoming elections despite repeated offers of dialogue and negotiations by the government.

Responding to a point raised by the leader of the opposition in the Senate, Sanaullah said that the government had accepted 37 of the 38 demands raised by the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), adding that the sole outstanding issue related to refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly, which could not be abolished through executive orders.

The adviser said Pakistan would continue supporting the Kashmir cause and the rights of the Kashmiri people, adding that peace and stability in AJK would be maintained in accordance with the law.

Last week, the AJK government banned the JAAC, accusing it of involvement in terrorism, promoting hatred and creating anarchy in the state. The ban followed the committee’s call for a protest on June 9. The organisation has previously spearheaded mass protests demanding economic relief and political rights, with some demonstrations ending in violence and fatalities during confrontations with law enforcement authorities in May 2024 and September 2025.

Read: Rs10m reward announced for four JAAC leaders’ arrest

Sanaullah, in today’s Senate session, said the action committee had emerged in 2023 with demands relating to electricity tariffs and wheat subsidies, adding that the government had already addressed the committee’s major demands by providing electricity at Rs4 per unit, subsidised wheat and a Rs23 billion relief package for the region.

Informing the Senate about negotiations with the committee, the adviser said the government remained engaged with the committee for several months and, through negotiations, reached decisions on most of its demands, he added.

“One of the demands was the abolition of 12 refugee seats and that those elected on such seats should neither be appointed ministers nor be granted quotas in government employment,” he said.

Sanaullah argued that if refugee representation in AJK was abolished, the movement behind the demand would come to an end, while noting that Shaheed Maqbool Bhat was a refugee.

He said a Rs23b package was approved following talks with protesters, while a written agreement was later signed after negotiations on 37 of the committee’s 38 demands.

The adviser said the only unresolved issue concerned refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly.

“Those seats represented families displaced from Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and could not be abolished through executive orders,” he said.

Ranasanaullah said that the government had proposed several options, including consultations among political parties, constitutional review, parliamentary consideration, and legal forums, but the proposals were rejected.

He added that all political parties in AJK, the AJK Legislative Assembly, and other constitutional forums had supported the position that refugee representation should remain part of the constitutional framework.

Also Read: AJK Police say 3 JAAC members killed in Rawalakot clashes, several injured

The adviser further said the action committee was aware that elections would be held before Aug 4 and alleged that its objective was to prevent the electoral process from taking place.

Tarar backs continuation of AJK refugee seats

Meanwhile, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar defended the continuation of refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly, saying they were linked to the Kashmir cause, and urged the opposition to begin consultations with the government over the appointment of the chief election commissioner.

Speaking in the National Assembly, Tarar said the action committee had demanded the abolition of 12 refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly. He said an all-party conference held in Kashmir had agreed that any constitutional amendment should be decided by the assembly.

He maintained that the refugee seats continued to exist because of their connection to the Kashmir cause. He said a reference had been sent to the Supreme Court, while the AJK Supreme Court had directed the next assembly to decide the matter.

The minister also alleged that recent developments were being influenced by external factors, saying audio recordings had surfaced indicating who was behind them. He claimed India had been unable to tolerate Pakistan’s response to it.

Background

The recent unrest and deadly clashes in areas, including Rawalakot, where the newly proscribed JAAC had been holding a sit-in outside the Combined Military Hospital Rawalakot. AJK police allege that armed JAAC members opened fire on deployed law enforcement in a planned attack, leaving four personnel dead and around 20 injured. JAAC, however, disputes this account, claiming security forces used tear gas and fired shells toward the hospital.

According to the AJK police, three individuals linked to the JAAC and four law enforcement personnel were killed during the protests on Sunday. JAAC, however, said in a statement on X that seven individuals were killed and dozens were injured when street firing was carried out in the dark after electricity was allegedly cut off.

The clash on Sunday came as the AJK government and the JAAC witnessed a face-off, as the election date for AJK was announced for July 27.

AJK’s 53-member legislative assembly includes 12 seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees — people who fled Indian-controlled Kashmir in 1947 and 1965 and are now scattered across Pakistan. Six seats represent refugees from the Jammu division (~434,000 people) and six from the Kashmir Valley (~30,000 people) — an already lopsided arrangement that many see as unfair.

The region witnessed one of its most turbulent periods in October last year when protests led by the JAAC erupted over demands for constitutional and governance reforms. At least nine people, including three policemen, were killed during the unrest.

The JAAC, which organised the protests and strike, had presented a wide-ranging charter of demands, including an end to the privileges enjoyed by the ruling elite, the abolition of 12 assembly seats reserved for refugees, and the scrapping of the quota system.

Two days after the violence, the government and the JAAC reached an agreement covering 12 core and 13 additional points. Under the accord, both sides agreed to constitute a high-level committee to examine the issue of refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly.

Read More: Four police personnel martyred, over 20 injured in Rawalakot firing: AJK police

The unrest also triggered political upheaval in the region. The PPP subsequently moved a no-confidence resolution against then prime minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz joining the effort. Haq, who had been elected in April 2023 with 48 votes, chose to face the vote rather than resign.

On Nov 17, Rathore secured 36 votes in the election and became the 16th prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

With elections now approaching and the refugee seat issue still unresolved, the AJK government convened an All Parties Conference (APC) in Muzaffarabad to build consensus. Almost every major party attended — except PTI and the JAAC, who boycotted it.

The JAAC’s position is that the government had already rejected its written proposals submitted on May 30, so attending would be futile. It had proposed either keeping symbolic refugee representation until the Kashmir dispute is permanently resolved, or replacing the 12 assembly seats with 4 seats in the AJK Council — a body chaired by the Prime Minister, which it argued would better preserve the political dimension of the Kashmir cause.

The APC rejected any changes outside the constitutional and legislative framework, saying only the elected assembly could alter refugee seat arrangements. The JAAC called the resolution “a page and a half of utterly trivial lines” and accused participants of gathering to serve their own interests rather than the public’s.