ISLAMABAD, July 27: Major opposition parties of AJK on Sunday threatened to hold protest rallies on Aug 9 if the government did not take the leadership and people of Kashmir into confidence on the Mangla Dam expansion project.

In an All Parties Conference held at the residence of the opposition leader in the AJK Legislative Assembly, Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry, here, they opposed the proposed expansion of the dam and demanded cancellation of the agreement inked by the

AJK and federal governments in this connection.

The conference was attended by over 10 parties, including Jammu Kashmir Liberation League President Abdul Majid Malik, Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front Chairman Amanullah Khan, Azad Kashmir Jamaat-i-Islami Amir Sardar Aizaz Afzal Khan,

Raja Latif Tahir of the JKLF (Yasin Malik group), and Akram Shah of the Pakistan Millat Party.

In a joint declaration, they said the AJK people should be taken into confidence on the issue.

The declaration stressed the need for an early resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

It warned both Pakistan and India that before reaching any agreement the Kashmiris and their leadership must be taken into confidence.

The conference made it clear that “Kashmiris do not recognise the Line of Control as a permanent border.”

The participants of the APC urged the government to take steps for improving the living standard of the people living close to the LoC.

They appealed to Kashmiris living all over the world to observe India’s Indepen-dence Day on Aug 15 as a “black day”.