Centre, AJK govt to work with other parties to build consensus on governance, constitutional issues: Dar

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said the Centre and the incoming Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government would work with other political parties and stakeholders to form consensus on “important governance and constitutional issues”, it emerged on Wednesday.

Dar’s statement came as he discussed recent developments in AJK with a group of cross-party Pakistan-origin British parliamentarians at Pakistan House in London, Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement on Wednesday.

Dar held the meeting as part of his five-day official visit to the United Kingdom, which began on Monday.

The parliamentarians included Lord Zameer Choudrey, Lord Qurban Hussain, Baroness Shaista Sheehan, and Lord Shaffaq Mohammed, as well as Members of Parliament Mohammad Yasin, Yasmin Qureshi, Afzal Khan, Zubir Ahmed and Adnan Hussain.

The British parliamentarians congratulated DPM Dar on PML-N’s victory in the recent AJK elections, the FO noted.

Dar said the people of AJK had “reposed their confidence in the PML-N because of its past record of delivering economic growth and development”.

“He said the new government would prioritise investment in infrastructure and job creation for the youth of Azad Jammu and Kashmir,” FO said in its statement.

Ahead of the general elections in AJK, unrest grew in the region as the regional administration and the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) were at odds over various issues, most notably the committee’s demand to abolish the 12 seats in the region’s Legislative Assembly, which resulted in protests across the region.

On June 5, the JAAC was declared a proscribed organisation by the regional government and placed under the First Schedule of the region’s anti-terrorism act (ATA).

On Saturday, outgoing AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore said the biggest challenge for the incoming government was dealing with the JAAC, stressing that dialogue was the only way to resolve the crisis.

In his meeting, Dar also “appreciated the important role played by the British parliamentarians in strengthening Pakistan-UK ties and their staunch advocacy for a just settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute”.

“The parliamentarians shared their views on other matters of common interest and reaffirmed their commitment to further cementing ties between Pakistan and the UK,” FO said.

The British lawmakers further lauded Pakistan’s mediation efforts in the US-Israeli war on Iran.

“They said that Pakistan’s historic role had been internationally recognised and had filled all overseas Pakistanis with pride.”

DPM Dar, in response, underscored that all parties adhering to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding was critical for “durable peace and stability in the region”.

He also mentioned Pakistan’s Makkah Joint Defence Agreement with Saudi Arabia and Turkiye as an important pact “in strengthening regional peace and stability”.

Dar stressed that the agreement was “purely defensive in nature”, FO said.