MUZAFFARABAD: Representatives of a civil society alliance, which has announced a state-wide lockdown on September 29 to press for acceptance of its charter of demands, sat across the table from an Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government negotiating team here on Wednesday, with two federal ministers attending as facilitators — amid conflicting reports about the atmosphere of the meeting.

The gravity of the situation could be gauged from the fact that the federal government had deputed around 2,000 police personnel in AJK in anticipation of protests. Sources in Islamabad confirmed that the contingents had already been dispatched.

A day earlier, the office of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had issued a communiqué on the AJK situation, stating that in the backdrop of talks between the AJK government and the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC), “the government of Pakistan intends to assist in resolving the impending issues peacefully and amicably.”

“In view thereof, the Prime Minister is pleased to direct that Ameer Muqam, Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, and Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, shall visit Muzaffarabad tomorrow (Wednesday) and interact with negotiation committees from both sides,” it read.

Addressed to the AJK chief secretary, with copies to JKJAAC and the concerned ministers, the communiqué urged the AJK government to extend necessary support for the process.

The letter came as a surprise for many AJK leaders, who had repeatedly accused the alliance — without directly naming it — of serving an “Indian agenda” by creating a law-and-order crisis.

The meeting began at 4:30pm in the Services and General Administration Department’s committee room, with breaks for asar and maghrib prayers.

The JKJAAC side was represented by nine core members: Shaukat Nawaz Mir, Faisal Jamil Kashmiri and Anjum Zaman Awan from Muzaffarabad division; Sardar Umar Nazir, Sardar Iftikhar Zaman and Raja Ghulam Mujtaba from Poonch division; and Advocate Saad Ansari, Imtiaz Aslam and Tauseef Jaral from Mirpur division.

The ministerial team included Col Waqar Noor and Sardar Amir Altaf (PML-N), Raja Faisal Rathore and Chaudhry Qasim Majeed (PPP), and Deevan Ali Chughtai and Zafar Iqbal Malik (PTI Forward Bloc). AJK Chief Secretary Khushhal Khan and IGP Rana Abdul Jabbar were also present.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2025