Efforts on to engage with AJK protesters ahead of polls

MUZAFFARABAD: With preparations for the upcoming elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir gathering pace, political strategies seem to be moving towards more engagement with the region’s main malcontents — the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC). A recent visit by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari saw the PPP chief and his team engaging with political bigwigs from the region, including AJK PM Faisal Mumtaz Rathore. In addition, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif is due in Mirpur tomorrow, where he is expected to address an election rally. In addition to supplementing their election campaign, the leaders’ visits are being seen as an attempt by the two main political parties to position themselves as active players in AJK politics, which have been dominated in recent months by the JAAC protests regarding its demand for the abolition of refugee seats in the region’s legislature. Bhutto-Zardari’s visit also coincided with what was earlier billed as a ‘backchannel attempt’ to engage with the proscribed outfit, which saw a delegation led by Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) Chairman Syed Qamar Raza meeting protesting leaders in Rawla­kot on Wednesday. Although there was no official word about the meeting, in a subsequent statement issued on Thursday, Qamar confirmed that he had contacted JAAC leaders, but characterised the engagement as a “personal initiative” aimed at persuading the group to shun violence. “As Chairman of the Overseas Pakistani Foundation, who has [the] welfare of the Pakistani diaspora at his heart, and mitigation of their concerns, whether real or imaginary, as my first priority, I made contact with JAAC in order to convince them to turn back from violence,” he said. The contacts took place against the backdrop of efforts to defuse tensions in AJK, following weeks of protests and unrest. While it made no mention of it, the statement by the OPF chairman came after a JAAC leader publicly thanked Mr Qamar and Field Marshal Asim Munir for what he described as understanding the grievances of the people of Kashmir. Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2026