Islamabad:
The federal minister of Kashmir affairs, Gilgit-Baltistan Amir Muqam, said on Thursday that the government had accepted most of the demands made by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) in Azad Kashmir, following a marathon 14-hour negotiation session in Muzaffarabad.
In a speech with journalists, Muqam said he visited Muzaffarabad about the special instructions from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to directly engage with stakeholders over JAC’s September 29 strike calls. The Federal Minister Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry accompanied him during the discussions.
The negotiations began the other day at.
“Most of the demands of constitutional and legal boundaries and related to welfare of the Kashmiri people – whether linked to the federal government or Kashmir government – has been accepted,” Muqam confirmed.
The Minister pointed out that the federal government already expanded significant subsidies to the region, including electricity to RS3 per year. Unit and flour for RS20 per Kg. He recalled that last year the Prime Minister awarded Prime Minister RS23 billion as a special subsidy for subsidies, in addition to a 100% increase in Azad Kashmir’s development budget.
However, Muqam criticized JAC for submitting what he called “illegal claims” against the end of the conversations, especially the proposal to abolish 12 legislative seats reserved for refugees from Indian-reigned Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
“Such a movement would send a dangerous message – that we disregard the status and victims of our brothers and sisters across the control line,” Muqam said, emphasizing that constitutional changes could only be pursued through elections and regulatory processes.
He also expressed regrets that some elements pursued disruptive agendas at a time when Kashmir’s reason, after increased tension with India, had received renewed attention to the international level.
“This plays directly in the hands of India,” Muqam noted. “But let me make it clear: Any requirement that the Kashmiri people are beneficial to the Kashmiri people will receive full support from both federal and kashmir governments.”
He confirmed that the doors of dialogue remained open and promised to continue the efforts to resolve disputes through consensus.
