• Matters with JKJAAC resolved, agreement to be signed soon, claims Tariq Fazal Chaudhry
• Draft reshaped; protesting leaders consult core team in Kohala
• AJK observes fifth day of strike, public transport paralysed
• HRCP condemns deaths, excess force, blackout
• Azad Kashmir residents ‘enjoy civil and political rights’, says FO

MUZAFFARABAD: Nerve-racking negotiations between the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC) and a high-profile team from Islamabad finally bore fruit on midnight on Friday as both sides had agreed on a draft with some minor amendments, according to one of the participants.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry announced late in the night that the final round of negotiations with the JKJAAC had begun and an agreement was slated to be signed soon, in a bid to end the ongoing unrest in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

Talks between the JKJAAC, the AJK government and federal ministers over elite privileges and reserved seats for refugees broke down last week. Rival groups have since staged protests, trading blame for violence that marred what began as a largely peaceful movement in AJK. Fierce clashes between protesters and law enforcers have left at least 10 people dead and scores critically injured in the territory.

On Friday, AJK observed its fifth consecutive day of shutter-down strike, with public transport paralysed. Only motorcycles and a few private vehicles were seen on some roads.

Debris, stones and broken glass left by protesters continued to litter main arteries, forcing the few vehicles in use to weave through obstacles. Mean­while, the communications blackout imposed on Sunday persisted, drawing growing resentment from residents.

A fresh round of talks between a high-level government delegation and a civil society alliance was held on Thursday.

Talks resumed around noon on Friday at a hilltop hotel in Upper Chattar, Muzaffarabad — rather than at the chief secretary’s office — and continued until evening, with short breaks for prayers and meals.

The JKJAAC delegation comprised Shaukat Nawaz Mir, Raja Amjad Ali Khan and Anjum Zaman Awan, all representing the Muzaffarabad division.

The team from Islamabad included PPP leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Senator Rana Sanaullah, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chaudhry, Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Yousaf, Adviser to Prime Minister on Kashmir Affairs Qamar Zaman Kaira, Masood Ahmed and Kashmir Affairs Minister Amir Muqam.

AJK PM Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, Legislative Assembly speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar and some other ministers from the region were also in the hotel but not in the negotiation room.

The remaining JKJAAC leaders stayed in Kohala, where police sources estimated nearly 15,000 people had converged from different areas. In Muzaffarabad, Chattar Chowk — the junction leading to the talks venue — also saw large crowds, with hundreds gathered.

At about 5:30pm, Shaukat Nawaz Mir and his colleagues returned from the hotel to Chattar Chowk, where they were greeted with emotional slogans. Mr Mir urged the crowd to accompany them to Kohala, where the draft agreement was to be shared with the rest of the core leadership for final consultations.

A private TV channel quoted Rana Sanaullah as saying that a “small deadlock” had arisen during the talks, prompting a reshaping of the draft. He said the JKJAAC representatives had been sent to Kohala for consultations and expressed hope that “a declaration of successful talks” would follow within hours.

According to sources, the JKJAAC trio returned to the hotel around 10pm, joined by five colleagues — Khawaja Mehran Arshad from Mirpur, Imtiaz Aslam from Kotli, Raja Ghulam Mujtaba from Bagh, and Umar Nazir Kashmiri from Poonch — to resume negotiations, which were still underway until midnight. A Facebook page believed to be operated by Mr Mir’s team posted that talks had succeeded, though it noted a formal announcement would depend on the government issuing the necessary notifications.

Final agreement soon

At around 11pm on Friday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry took to X and stated that matters between the two sides had been settled, according to a Dawn.com report.

“The final agreement is expected to be signed soon [and] the final round of negotiations is underway,” the federal minister wrote. “Public interests and peace are our priority.”

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said earlier that the government negotiating team was very close to an agreement with the JAAC.

Speaking on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada ke Saath’, Mr Iqbal said that the government delegation, made up of members from both the PPP and PML-N, has nearly reached a consensus on a possible agreement. “Both sides are currently studying the proposal,” he said. “I am hopeful that an agreement will be signed soon.”

On Thursday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had expressed deep concern over the unrest in AJK, directing the negotiation committee to immediately proceed to the AJK capital and find an immediate and lasting solution to the issues.

HRCP sounds alarm

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has said it is “deeply alarmed by the ongoing violence in AJK.

“We strongly condemn the use of excessive force and the deaths of civilians and law enforcers alike as well as communication blackouts,” the HRCP posted on X.

It underlined that while “dialogue is essential, it cannot be meaningful amid the continued political disenfranchisement of the region’s people. The right to peaceful protest must be upheld and grievances addressed transparently”.

“We urge both the federal and AJK governments to avoid further escalation, respect people’s fundamental rights and commit to genuine, inclusive negotiations. To this end, HRCP intends to send a fact-finding mission to AJK as soon as possible to assess the situation,” it said.

AJK people ‘enjoying rights’

Commenting on the protests, the Foreign Office said the people of AJK freely enjoy their civil and political rights and actively participate in shaping their democratic future.

“Pakistan remains firmly committed to upholding its dignity, safeguarding its rights, including the right to peaceful assembly and protest, respecting its sentiments, and advancing its socio-economic development,” it added.

“This commitment reflects not only our constitutional responsibility but also our enduring moral obligation to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.” However, it noted that in stark contrast, “our brothers and sisters in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) continue to face a grim reality under occupation”.

“The use of brute force, denial of fundamental freedoms, and systematic and grave human rights violations have become the hallmark of India’s state-sponsored terrorism against the innocent Kashmiri people to suppress their just struggle. Efforts to silence dissent, demographic engineering, and the denial of civil liberties underscore the severity of the situation,” it continued.

It said that rather than casting unwarranted aspersions on AJK, India must reckon with its obligations under international law and the UN Charter.

“India must respect the inalienable rights of the Kashmiri people, most importantly their fundamental right to self-determination, as enshrined in the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. Pakistan believes that the path to lasting peace and stability in South Asia lies in the resolution of the Kashmir dispute,” it said.

Tariq Naqash in Muzaffarabad and Shahab Nafees in Karachi also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2025