Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Majlis-e-Shura has established a Grand Kashmir Peace Jirga to facilitate dialogue between the government and the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC).
It decided to establish jirga in an effort to restore peace and normalcy in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
JI Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman presided over the Majlis-e-Shura meeting at Mansoora on Sunday.
The jirga will engage both the government and the JAAC, setting restoration of peace in AJK as as its top priority.
To oversee the initiative, Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman constituted a committee headed by JI Vice Emir Liaqat Baloch. The committee includes JI AJK Emir Dr Muhammad Mushtaq Khan and former AJK JI chiefs Abdul Rashid Turabi and Dr Khalid Mahmood. He indicated that the committee would be expanded to include former civil bureaucrats, retired judges, ex-military officials and members of civil society from AJK.
The JI chief urged the government to initiate negotiations without delay to restore normalcy in the region. He said dialogue was the only viable way to resolve the ongoing crisis and prevent further deterioration of the situation.
Jamaat-e-Islami Majlise Shura:
Meanwhile, the JI Shura expressed deep concern over the prevailing situation in AJK. It warned that continued unrest could adversely affect the broader Kashmir cause. The Shura reiterated that JI will make no compromise on the Kashmir issue. It stated that JI and countless Pakistanis and Kashmiris had sacrificed their lives for the cause.
JI Emir described Kashmir as Pakistan’s “jugular vein.” He said the state should act like a caring guardian by embracing aggrieved citizens instead of allowing tensions to escalate. Referring to the security challenges in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he cautioned that Pakistan could not afford another internal conflict in AJK.
He announced that the expanded committee would soon visit Rawalakot. The committee, he added, will meet JAAC leaders and make every possible effort to bring the situation under control through dialogue.
He also commented on the controversy surrounding the 12 reserved seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly. Rehman acknowledged that some of the protesters’ concerns were legitimate. However, he stressed that representation of refugees from Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and the occupied territory itself in the assembly could not be abolished.
