MUZAFFARABAD: A large number of political and civil society activists staged a peaceful demonstration here on Thursday, calling for the outright abolition of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Council to pave way for empowerment of the elected government in Muzaffarabad.

“Unabated fiscal and administrative corruption in the council warrants for its outright abolition,” read one of the banners and placards carried by the demonstrators who assembled at Burhan Wani Chowk along the press club. “No to AJK Council,” read a placard. The council was established under AJK’s Interim Constitution Act 1974 apparently “to serve as a bridge between Muzaffarabad and Islamabad.” However, it is widely alleged to have turned itself into a parallel government, evading accountability of its expenditures by investigating and accounting bodies of Pakistan or AJK.

Last week, reports emerged from Islamabad that Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had agreed in principle to dissolve the council. A similar decision was also reportedly taken about the Gilgit-Baltistan Council.

In 2015, the AJK Legislative Assembly had unanimously approved constitutional reforms, which had suggested, among other things, curtailment of fiscal and administrative powers of the council.

However, AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider had been opposed to the very existence of the council, terming it a “reminiscent of despotic Dogra regime” in the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.

While the PTI also supported abolition owing to the alleged corruption in the council, the PPP is yet to give its official stance on the issue even though one of its senior leaders - Chaudhry Mohammad Yasin - had called for implementation of the unanimously approved recommendations instead of the complete abolition of the council.

It was why PTI senior vice president Khawaja Farooq Ahmed was among the attendees of Thursday’s demonstration in Muzaffarabad, apart from PML-N leaders Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed and Dr Raja Mohammad Arif Khan. There was no PPP leader at the demonstration.

Faisal Jamil Kashmiri, one of the organisers, said the Interim Constitution had undermined the status of the AJK government as it gave excessive executive and legislative powers to the AJK Council over 52 subjects, including taxation.

He said as chairman of the council, the prime minister of Pakistan was exercising full authority in AJK although he was neither answerable to the people nor to the elected representatives of AJK.

“Abolition of this institution will rid us of all these anomalies,” he said. Raja Farrukh Mumtaz, a leader of the PML-N youth wing, expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Abbasi for agreeing to abolish the council.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2018