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 the AJK’s recent unrest and urged the federal government to restore internet services immediately.
Addressing a public rally in Kotli ahead of the July 27 AJK elections, 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, right to ownership and right to employment,” adding that AJK’s natural resources belonged to its people.
He said his proposal envisaged protesters suspending demonstrations, while the state halted action until an independent inquiry completed its findings.
Urging dialogue, Bilawal said neither the protesters nor the government’s representatives had responded to the proposal and called on the federal government to restore internet services, saying ordinary AJK people should not suffer because of the dispute.
The PPP chairman also accused political rivals of victimising his party workers through police cases and expressed confidence that the PPP candidates would secure victories across Kotli district.
The July 27 AJK elections, he said would determine whether the people endorsed the PPP’s vision for greater political rights and economic opportunities in the region.
The PPP chairman said the party had prioritised loyal workers while selecting candidates for the elections.
“When the party was considering candidates, I instructed the
leadership to prioritise our loyal workers,” 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 forward his legacy on the party’s ticket.
Recalling the previous elections, Bilawal said the PPP had contested under far more difficult circumstances, when the PML-N was in power in Azad Kashmir and the PTI governed at the centre. Despite those challenges, he said, the people of Kashmir had placed their trust in the PPP.
He said the political landscape had since changed, with the PPP governing Azad Kashmir for the past six months and the PML-N leading the federal government, making the current electoral contest different from the last one.
Bilawal said the manifesto he had presented to the people had
already received the support of 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.
