MUZAFFARABAD:
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday promised greater constitutional rights for Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), renewed his call for a truth and reconciliation commission to address AJK’s recent unrest and urged the federal government to immediately restore internet services.
Addressing a public meeting in Kotli ahead of the AJK elections on 27 July, Bilawal said the PPP would seek observer representation for AJK in Pakistan’s key constitutional institutions, including the Council of Common Interests (CCI), the National Finance Commission (NFC) and the National Assembly.
Presenting the PPP’s election agenda, Bilawal said his party stood for “the right to rule, the right to ownership and the right to employment,” adding that AJK’s natural resources belonged to its people.
He said his proposal envisioned protesters suspending demonstrations while the state halted action until an independent investigation concluded its findings.
Calling for dialogue, Bilawal said that neither the protesters nor the government representatives had responded to the proposal and called on the federal government to restore internet services, saying that ordinary AJK people should not suffer because of the dispute.
The PPP chairman also accused political rivals of victimizing his party workers through police cases and expressed confidence that the PPP candidates would secure victories in the entire Kotli district.
The July 27 AJK elections, he said, would determine whether the people supported the PPP’s vision for greater political rights and economic opportunities in the region.
The PPP chairman said the party had given priority to loyal workers while selecting candidates for the elections.
“When the party considered candidates, I instructed
leadership to prioritize our loyal employees,” he said.
Referring to the selection of the candidate for LA-13, Bilawal said the decision was straightforward. “It was not difficult to choose between a new entrant and the son of Matloob Inqalabi,” he said, adding that Inqalabi had devoted his life to the PPP and that his son was now carrying on his legacy on the party’s ticket.
Recalling the previous election, Bilawal said the PPP had fought under far more difficult circumstances when the PML-N was in power in Azad Kashmir and the PTI ruled at the centre. Despite these challenges, he said, the people of Kashmir had put their faith in the PPP.
He said the political landscape had since changed, with the PPP ruling Azad Kashmir for the past six months and the PML-N heading the federal government, making the current election campaign different from the last.
Bilawal said that the manifesto he had presented to the people had
already received support from voters in Gilgit-Baltistan. He said he had brought the same three principles to Kashmir: the right to rule, the right to ownership and the right to employment.
