ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, on Sunday accused the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) of attempting to create instability despite the government implementing most of the banned group’s agreed demands.
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad along with senior Kashmiri political leaders, including veteran politician Sardar Ateeq Ahmad Khan, Minister Chaudhry said the government had honoured commitments made under an agreement reached with the group in October last year following protests in the region.
The minister’s remarks came two days after the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government declared the JAAC a proscribed organisation under anti-terrorism laws.
The Federal Minister said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had constituted a high-level committee to negotiate with the action committee, and a separate monitoring mechanism had been established to oversee implementation of the agreement.
“Thirty-five out of 38 demands have been implemented,” the minister said, rejecting “negative propaganda” that only three demands had been fulfilled.
Chaudhry said the government had implemented all clauses agreed upon in October 2025 and remained willing to discuss the remaining issues through dialogue.
“The clauses that are yet to be implemented, we can still sit down and talk about them,” he said, adding that violent demonstrations could not be a substitute for negotiations.
The minister said the government had fulfilled key demands relating to public welfare, including electricity at Rs3 per unit in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, subsidies on flour and other essential commodities, and improvements in internet services.
Chaudhry claimed that certain elements were attempting to create unrest ahead of elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
“The AJK Legislative Assembly has completed its constitutional term,” he said, adding that efforts were being made to undermine free and fair elections scheduled for July 27.
He recalled that the JAAC emerged in September 2023 with demands centred on flour subsidies, lower electricity tariffs and reductions in elite privileges.
According to the minister, protests in 2024 and again in September-October 2025 were followed by negotiations that resulted in a 38-point agreement signed on October 4, 2025.
Chaudhry said he and Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Amir Muqam had since been holding monthly meetings with JAAC representatives to review progress on implementation.
Despite those engagements, he said, the committee had issued a fresh protest call for June 9.
A major point of disagreement now centres on JAAC’s demand to abolish 12 refugee seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.
The seats are reserved for refugees from Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) who migrated to Pakistan after 1947.
Chaudhry said government representatives had proposed that the matter be debated through an all-parties conference involving registered political parties in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, given its constitutional implications.
“Around 2 to 2.2 million Kashmiri refugees are living in Pakistan, and 12 people sitting in a closed room cannot abolish those seats,” he said.
The minister added that the government had suggested discussing the issue in the AJK Legislative Assembly.
He said the government had requested that the planned June 9 protest be postponed for several days to allow consultations with senior leadership and efforts to find a mutually acceptable solution.
According to Chaudhry, courts have already clarified that the refugee seats cannot be abolished without legislation.
Speaking at the press conference, Sardar Ateeq Ahmad Khan urged the action committee to avoid adopting an uncompromising position.
He said the Government of Pakistan had accepted most of the committee’s demands and had made sincere efforts to address public concerns through negotiations and implementation of agreed measures.
