Shafaqna Pakistan: The Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) on Wednesday boycotted an All Parties Conference (APC) convened by the government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir to discuss its demands, after participants unanimously rejected its proposal to abolish refugee seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.
The APC, held at the Prime Minister’s House in Muzaffarabad, lasted more than six hours and brought together nearly all political and religious parties of the region, except the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and JAAC leadership, both of whom boycotted the meeting despite being invited. A joint statement based on a consensus resolution was later presented by Faisal Mumtaz Rathore before the media.
JAAC confirmed it had received an invitation from the AJK prime minister but decided not to attend after the government rejected its demand, which it described as unfair to the people of the region.
“The position of the Jammu and Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee is clear. During the negotiations held on May 30, the proposal put forward by the governments of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir was rejected based on clear arguments,” it said in a statement.
The committee said that consulting those who benefitted from a structure based on “injustice, denial of fundamental rights and inequality amounted to rubbing salt into the wounds of ordinary people who had long been subjected to exploitation”.
“Therefore, the Jammu and Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee stands by its decision not to participate in the meeting,” it said, adding that it hoped the prime minister and other responsible stakeholders would move towards serious and meaningful efforts to ensure full implementation of the agreement reached on October 4, 2025.
Responding to the APC declaration, JAAC Chairman Shaukat Nawaz Mir said the organisation did not recognise the conference and accused its participants of convening it to serve their own interests.
In a statement, Mir said there had been several occasions when an all-parties conference should have been convened, particularly on the Kashmir issue, and that political leaders should have issued a strong declaration in support of the cause.
Source: Express Tribune
