ISLAMABAD: A deadlock persists between protesters and the Azad Kashmir government over a 38-point charter of demands laid by the demonstrators, Pakistan Minister for Kashmir Affairs Ameer Muqam said on Monday, with clashes between rival groups killing at least one person.
The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (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 JKJAAC, which has organized several protests in Azad Kashmir in recent years to demand resolution of public issues with some of them even turning violent, on Monday went ahead with its call for an indefinite “lockdown” and staged protests at multiple locations in the territory. A clash between JKJAAC and the Muslim Conference, which supports the AJK government, in Muzaffarabad killed one person.
The situation prompted Muqam to hold negotiations with JKJAAC representatives this week that failed to yield results as a deadlock persisted between the two sides, mainly over the dissolution of AJK Assembly seats reserved for Kashmiri migrants who came from the Indian side of the territory.
