- Sanaullah denies allegations that refugee seats were used for rigging.
- PML-N leader reiterates right to peaceful assembly.
- JAAC sought AJK govt’s exclusion from talks: AJK PM.
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Saturday alleged that outside elements were funding the banned Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), saying the banned outfit rejected several offers aimed at resolving disputes peacefully.
Talking further Pakinomist newsIn the ‘Jirga’ programme, Sanaullah said the banned outfit had never before demanded the abolition of 12 refugee seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Assembly.
“The [JAAC] made the demand in October 2025 along with the other 38 demands and agreed to the formation of a committee on this matter,” he said.
The AJK government on June 5 declared JAAC a proscribed organization under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), saying the group was engaged in terrorism.
The ban was imposed days ahead of the banned outfit’s planned protest on June 9 to abolish 12 seats in AJK reserved for refugees from Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) who migrated to Pakistan after 1947.
Speaking during today’s programme, Sanaullah said the banned JAAC had raised a new demand this time, seeking removal of the declaration that Kashmir would accede to Pakistan after independence from the pledge required to be signed for the AJK assembly elections.
After investigations, it was revealed that external actors, including members of the Pakistani diaspora in the UK, were funding the banned clothing, he added.
According to the PML-N leader, the federal government offered a number of options to the banned outfit to resolve the refugee seat dispute, including a referendum, an all-party conference and referring the matter to the AJK Assembly for a decision.
However, the banned JAAC rejected all the options and insisted on going ahead with its protest on June 9, he said.
Denying allegations that refugee seats were being used for rigging, Sanaullah said the seats are reserved for those who have migrated from IIOJK.
“If you remove the refugees from the Jammu valley, what will become of your movement for the freedom of IIOJK?” he asked.
Reiterating the public’s right to peaceful assembly, Sanaullah said no one has the right to take up arms and occupy Islamabad or Muzaffarabad.
AJK situation ‘not good’
Separately, AJK Chief Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore said the situation in the region was not good and described it as a test for the state.
“I certainly don’t want to say that the situation in Azad Kashmir is good,” he said in an interview with Pakinomist news.
Rathore maintained that lives lost during JAAC’s protests bore a huge human cost and could not be ignored.
Referring to earlier talks with JAAC, he said lives were also lost during earlier talks with the banned outfit.
According to the AJK premier, the banned outfit ignored his remarks earlier and tried to exclude the AJK government from the reconciliation process.
Rathore lamented that criticism was leveled at the AJK government despite JAAC’s demand to negotiate only with the federal government.
Referring to earlier understanding with the banned clothing, he said the commitment of the AJK government had been fulfilled.
