Kashmir parliamentary committee chairman requests meeting with Achakzai to discuss AJK situation

ISLAMABAD: The chairman of the National Assembly’s (NA) Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir, Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon, has requested NA Opposition Leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai to spare the time for a meeting discussing the situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), it emerged on Monday.

The regional administration and the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) remain at odds over various issues,…

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Bilawal calls for end to AJK protests as unrest 'damaging' Pakistan's reputation amid global spotlight

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Sunday appealed to those protesting in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to end their demonstrations, cautioning that the ongoing unrest was “damaging both the Kashmiri cause and Pakistan’s reputation”.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Bilawal — whose PPP is in government in AJK — noted that the imminent signing of the Pakistan-mediated peace pact between the…

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AJK administration hopeful remaining JAAC protesters will disperse peacefully

MUZAFFARABAD: The Poonch administration in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) is hopeful that the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) protesters will disperse peacefully after a sizeable number of people gathered again after Friday prayers.

The regional administration and the JAAC have been at odds over various issues, most notably the committee’s demand to abolish the 12 seats in the…

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JAAC protesters in AJK's Poonch district disperse on fears of major crackdown

MUZAFFARABAD: All three gatherings of the activists and supporters of the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) at the fringes of Rawalakot dispersed and their participants returned to their respective areas shortly after midnight, officials said on Friday.

The development reportedly came after indications that authorities had planned a major operation to uproot the protesters, who had…

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Khawaja Asif urges JAAC to let AJK voters decide fate of refugee seats

As tensions persist in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Thursday urged the now proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) to let the people of the region decide whether the 12 refugee seats should be abolished.

The regional administration and the JAAC remain at odds over various issues, most notably the committee’s demand to abolish the 12 seats in the region’s…

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JAAC strike: Markets, streets deserted in AJK's Muzaffarabad but no demonstrations held

MUZAFFARABAD: Shops and markets were largely shut and vehicular traffic remained minimal in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), on Tuesday as the newly proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) observed a strike.

Meanwhile, AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore urged a return to the negotiating table in a bid to end the tensions that have gripped the region over…

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Pakistan rejects 'unwarranted' remarks on AJK by individuals in UK

Pakistan on Monday rejected “unwarranted” remarks on Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) by members of the diaspora in the United Kingdom, advising the individuals to refrain from interfering in Pakistan’s internal affairs.

“We have noted with concern the irresponsible and ill-informed insinuations made by certain members of the diaspora in the UK regarding AJK,” said the Foreign Office (FO) in a…

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At least 7 civilians killed during Sunday clash between police, JAAC protesters in AJK's Rawalakot: official

MUZAFFARABAD: At least seven civilians were killed during Sunday’s clash between police and the newly proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) protesters in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s (AJK) Rawalakot, an official told _Dawn_ on Monday.

Poonch Commissioner Sardar Waheed Khan confirmed the civilian death toll to _Dawn_ a day after the clash in which four law enforcement personnel were…

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Four cops martyred, 20 injured as AJK protest spirals

• Two killed, dozens hurt as riot police use tear gas, batons to disperse protesters
• IGP terms attack on CMH ‘outright terrorism’
• AJK SC says changes to Constitution ‘not a concession to be wrested from govt’

MUZAFFARABAD: At least four policemen were martyred and 20 were injured after fierce clashes broke out with supporters of the newly-proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) in…

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Bilawal says will meet PM Shehbaz over AJK situation; state media reports JAAC head office sealed

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, whose party holds the majority in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly, said on Sunday he would meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif over the current situation in AJK, asserting that issues would be resolved through talks.

He said this while presiding over a meeting of the PPP AJK parliamentary party in Islamabad, a statement issued by the PPP…

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Bilawal says will meet PM Shehbaz over AJK situation, issues to be resolved through talks

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, whose party holds the majority in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly, said on Sunday he would meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif over the current situation in AJK, asserting that issues would be resolved through talks.

He said this while presiding over a meeting of the PPP AJK parliamentary party in Islamabad, a statement issued by the PPP…

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Constitutional amendment not a concession to be wrested, says AJK SC on presidential reference

MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Supreme Court has observed that any amendment in the region’s constitution was “not a concession to be wrested” from the government, as the court issued its advice on a presidential reference, which emerged on Sunday.

The advisory opinion came in response to a reference filed by acting AJK President Chaudhry Latif Akbar under Article 46-A of the Interim…

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AJK govt cracks down on JAAC after imposition of ban

• Police arrest at least 72 people, recover ‘weapons, suspicious documents’
• Situation tense in Poonch after trader gunned down in ‘clash with police’

MUZAFFARABAD: Auth­or­it­ies in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Saturday launched a crackdown on the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), arresting scores of its leaders and activists from different areas.

“In fulfilment of its…

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