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• Officials term JAAC’s call for election boycott ‘an attempt to remain in the spotlight’

• AJK govt set to unveil Rs286bn budget today

MUZAFFARABAD: As leaders of the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) urge their supporters to boycott next month’s polls in Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK), the administration sees the effort as an attempt to keep themselves in the spotlight.

In a video circulating on social media, a JAAC leader – identified by an official as Umar Nazir Kashmiri – can be heard asking the crowd: “After the way this game has been played with us, will you still take part in this sham and fraudulent election?” The crowd responds with a resounding ‘no’.