MUZAFFARABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has warned the coalition government against any attempt to amend the region’s constitution for the benefit of a select few, asserting that it will oppose such moves at every level.

This declaration was made during a meeting of the party’s key office-bearers held in Kashmir House on Friday.

Participants included PML-N regional president Shah Ghulam Qadir, senior vice president Mushtaq Ahmed Minhas, secretary general Chaudhry Tariq Farooq, secretary information Barrister Iftikhar Gillani, deputy information secretary Farhan Azam, and former prime minister and central vice president Raja Farooq Haider.

“The PML-N will not be part of any constitutional amendment. Rather, it will strongly resist any such attempt both inside and outside the Legislative Assembly,” the meeting resolved, emphasizing that no one should be allowed to tamper with the constitution without justifiable reasons.

It was also decided that the party would engage with political forces both within and outside the assembly to counter any such moves.

Political sources told Dawn that some members of the coalition government were eager to create additional constituencies in the AJK Assembly to secure their political future.

Amid ongoing negotiations and political manoeuvring, several other proposed amendments had also surfaced, some of which reportedly involved surrendering certain powers of the AJK government in exchange for other concessions, the sources said.

“We are closely monitoring the situation and will not allow anyone’s nefarious designs to succeed at the expense of the interests of the people of Azad Kashmir and the state of Pakistan,”commented one of the meeting participants, while speaking to Dawn on condition of anonymity.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2025