MUZAFFARABAD: The Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights (JKCHR) has urged a high-powered committee constituted by the federal government to clarify that no final decision has been made on the status of the 12 refugee seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly.

In a detailed communication, addressed to the chairman of the committee constituted under a Jan 6, 2026 notification of the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit-Baltistan and SAFRON, JKCHR President Dr Syed Nazir Gilani expressed “serious constitutional, procedural and representational concerns” about what he described as the “public misinterpretation” of Item 2(xii) of the agreement reached with the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC).

Established in 1984, the JKCHR is a UK-based NGO that has held special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) since 2001.

The organisation pointed out that some JAAC representatives and supporters were publicly claiming through media statements and public platforms that a decision had already been made to abolish the 12 refugee seats, an assertion it described as legally untenable and not supported by the agreement.

Quoting the relevant clause, the JKCHR said it merely stated, “A high-powered committee comprising legal and constitutional experts will deliberate on the issue of the members of AJK Assembly other than AJK constituencies”, and did not amount to a constitutional amendment, an executive determination, a repeal provision, or a binding settlement.

The organisation maintained that any public projection of a predetermined outcome before the committee had even deliberated would undermine the neutrality, procedural fairness, and institutional credibility of the process.

The JKCHR also highlighted what it termed constitutional and procedural ambiguities in Item 2(xii). It pointed out that while the opening sentence referred to “legal and constitutional experts”, the operative part subsequently restricted representation to “legal experts” from the JAAC as well as from Pakistan and AJK governments.

According to the letter, the issue involved broader constitutional questions relating to representational legitimacy, the Interim Constitution, state subject identity and international commitments linked to the Kashmir dispute, including the UNCIP framework.

The organisation also criticised the absence of any mechanism for participation by refugee constituencies themselves, saying the committee structure recognised only the governments of Pakistan and AJK and JAAC, while excluding refugee representatives, displaced communities, bar associations, and civil society groups representing affected populations.

It argued that no constitutionally sustainable recommendation affecting refugee representation could emerge without the structured participation of the refugee constituencies and their elected representatives.

Describing the refugee seats as symbolic of the continuity of the former pri­ncely state of Jammu and Kashmir and recognition of displaced populations, the JKCHR said any alteration to the framework would have implications be­­y­­ond internal administrative arrangements.

The council called upon the committee to formally clarify that no final decision had yet been taken on the refugee seats, discourage “public misinformation”, ensure participation of refugee constituencies in the deliberations, and associate constitutional experts with the process.

In a separate letter addr­essed to AJK Chief Secretary Khushal Khan, the council president requested official circulation of JKCHR’s representation among the chairman, all members of the high-powered committee, the senior minister for law and justice, and other relevant authorities connected with the deliberative process.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2026