ISLAMABAD: PPP’s Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) chapter on Sunday urged the region’s election commission to immediately withdraw the election schedule for 12 refugee seats, stressing the need for dialogue to defuse the ongoing crisis.

The call comes ahead of the July 27 elections in AJK amid widespread protests by the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) over their demand to abolish 12 seats in the region’s Legislative Assembly that are reserved for refugees from Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir who settled in mainland Pakistan after 1947.

Elections for these seats are held separately from the 33 general seats in AJK, with refugees registered in 12 constituencies across Pakistan voting for their representatives.

PPP-AJK President Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin, who addressed a crowded press conference at Kashmir House following a meeting of the party’s core committee, said that to deal with the existing challenges and tensions in the region, negotiations and political consensus were unavoidable.

“The central focus of PPP’s politics has always been the Kashmir issue. Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto played a historic role in highlighting the Kashmir cause at the global level,” he said.

He noted that over the last seven months, the government had made serious efforts to resolve public issues and strengthen democratic institutions, recalling the implementation of “37 out of 38” demands of the JAAC from an agreement the group signed with the government last year in October.

“Only the constitutional matter relating to refugee seats remained under consideration, for which alternative legal and constitutional avenues exist,” he noted.

Yasin maintained that issuing the election timetable just three days before JAAC’s June 9 protest call was “not an appropriate decision”.

During negotiations, all parties had adopted a positive attitude, and JAAC was asked for a one-week extension, which was not granted, he said.

“Under the current circumstances, holding elections appears difficult. The Election Commission should withdraw the schedule and move the consultative process forward. PPP is not in favour of any confrontation or clash. 12 refugee seats cannot be more valuable than human lives,” he said.

Warning of external exploitation, he said hostile forces, particularly India, could try to take advantage of the situation.

“There is a shortage of essential commodities in AJK. The state is facing serious difficulties and uncertainty. The solution to all problems lies in dialogue, political harmony and continuity of the democratic process,” he stressed.

He was accompanied by Parliamentary Leader in the AJK Legislative Assembly Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob Khan, Senior Minister Mian Abdul Wahid, and ministers Sardar Javed Ayub, Javed Iqbal Budhanvi, Sardar Ziaul Qamar, Chaudhry Qasim Majeed, Chaudhry Yasir Sultan, Mahrukh Taqdees Gillani, and PM’s spokesperson Shaukat Javed Mir, among others.

The PPP parliamentary leader, Khan, echoed similar demands while speaking on the occasion, saying it was “imperative” that the schedule be withdrawn.

“Elections are not more important than human lives. Hasty and ill-advised decisions have brought us to this point. PPP believes in democratic values and supports consideration of the public’s peaceful demands. It is imperative to withdraw the election schedule immediately to pave the way for reconciliation,” he said.

Senior Minister Wahid said saving the state was the top priority. “AJK cannot afford more tension and conflict. All parties must urgently seek an acceptable solution through dialogue,” he said.

“Pakistan and Kashmir cannot be separated. Kashmiris’ love and attachment to Pakistan remains as strong as ever, and India can never succeed in creating a rift between Pakistan and the Kashmiri people. Despite political differences, state interests must come first,” Wahid said.

He stressed that there was still time for all parties to sit together, resolve the issue and postpone elections in view of the current situation.

The seats have long been politically sensitive due to disputes over voter lists, delimitation, and constitutional amendments.

Earlier in the day, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also said that the PPP had called upon the AJK Election Commission to withdraw its “premature election schedule”.