Pakistan PM urges Azad Kashmir protesters to withdraw ‘lockdown’ call — party official
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has urged the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC) to withdraw its call for an indefinite “lockdown” in Azad Kashmir, a senior member of Sharif’s party said on Sunday.
The JKJAAC has laid a 38-point charter of demands before the Azad Kashmir government, which includes removal of perks of the ruling elites, ending 12 seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Assembly reserved for Kashmiri migrants who came from the Indian-side of the territory, and royalty for hydel power projects in Azad Kashmir.
The committee has organized several protests in Azad Kashmir in recent years to demand resolution of public issues, some of which have even turned violent. In Nov. last year, the JKJAAC had staged a similar protest that continued for days and ended after assurances by the AJK government to meet their demands.
The action committee this year issued a call for an indefinite lockdown in Azad Kashmir starting Sept. 29, which prompted members of Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party from Pakistan and Azad Kashmir to hold consultations to defuse the demonstration that may continue for days if not weeks.
