MUZAFFARABAD: Former Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) prime minister and regional head of the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP), Sardar Tanveer Ilyas said on Saturday that the experiment of forming a “national government” in the liberated territory had failed, plunging it into chaos.

Speaking to a group of journalists, he warned that the situation in AJK was extraordinary, requiring all political leaders to come together and play their roles responsibly.

“In a democratic system, one party governs while others serve as the opposition to hold the government accountable. However, it is unheard of for all parties to join the government and abandon the state’s affairs to circumstances,” the former premier said.

He was referring to the current AJK setup, where a major breakaway faction of the PTI, along with the PPP and PML-N, had formed a coalition government in April last year after his ouster from office on charges of ‘contempt of court’, leaving a diminished PTI in a largely ineffective opposition.

Mr Ilyas was of the view that AJK had previously been the most peaceful region in the country. “However, the experiment of formation of the national government has introduced unprecedented unrest in its 75-year history.”

He expressed grave concerns over what he described as the compromising of the AJK Legislative Assembly, warning that the repercussions would be long-lasting for the region’s people.

“The current situation has misled the youth. To counter this, we must restore the dignity of the Legislative Assembly and provide political parties with the freedom to operate openly and fairly,” he stressed.

Commenting on the deteriorating state of affairs, Mr Ilyas said: “While we once wept for occupied Kashmir, we are now lamenting the state of affairs in the liberated territory.”

Elaborating, he said the circumstances in AJK had provided fodder for Indian media, which was now running constant propaganda claiming that entry points to AJK were blocked and the people were protesting.

Describing the “desecration” of images of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and a veteran Kashmiri leader at Kohala, as a reprehensible act, he urged people to express their opinions responsibly and avoid disrespecting their elders.

“I strongly denounce actions that undermine the ideology and struggle that earned us our freedom. Unfortunately, today’s youth are largely unaware of their history and are being manipulated by harmful influences,” he said.

Tracing history, he referred to the July 1947 resolution for the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan, passed at the Srinagar residence of Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan and said, “It was this resolution that inspired Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the father of the freedom movement, to proclaim, ‘We are Pakistanis, and Pakistan is ours.’”

He said blocking roads and holding the state hostage was unacceptable under any law and no civilised nation tolerated such actions.

Mr Ilyas vowed that the struggle for the liberation of occupied Kashmir and its annexation to Pakistan would continue.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2024