MUZAFFARABAD: Five years ago, when India dismembered the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories and abrogated its special status, there was much uproar in the Pakistan-administered side of the state.
Protest marches were conducted, and even a large procession headed towards the Line of Control (LoC) to express solidarity with the people across. Since then, every year, August 5 has been observed as “Kashmir Exploitation Day.”
But this year, there was hardly any public enthusiasm to mark the day, barring a few official functions. The clearest sign of this was the sitting of the legislative assembly to mark the occasion. Ironically, instead of an in-depth discussion on India’s move to revoke the region’s special status, most speeches quickly shifted to local political disputes.
Apart from the PaJK Prime Minister, no member centred their address on August 5. The debate shifted to the role of the Awami Action Committee and the controversy surrounding assembly seats reserved for Jammu and Kashmir refugees living in Pakistan.
Over the past two years, the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a coalition of grassroots activists, has emerged as a powerful socio-political force demanding economic justice, democratic reform, and accountable governance. Its rise is threatening traditional politicians. Members discussed the refugee seats issue and demands by locals for their abolition.
Out of 45 general seats for which elections take place, 12 are reserved for 464,000 refugees—six each for those who migrated from the Jammu division and the Kashmir Valley division of Jammu and Kashmir from across the LoC in 1947 and 1965. The catch is that these refugees do not live in PaJK but in Pakistan, and all of them are Pakistani citizens and voters there.
Former Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider, in his speech, accused certain quarters of deliberately creating chaos in the region to strip it of its constitution. “I smell conspiracy,” he warned, adding that such a move would erase what remains of the region’s autonomy and permanently bury the Kashmir dispute. “As long as I am alive, no one can touch this Assembly,” he vowed.
Haider voiced concerns about the current setup but insisted he would block any step against Pakistan’s interests. He feared that PaJK might also face the same fate as the part of Jammu and Kashmir on the Indian side.
“Modi’s agenda cannot run in Azad Kashmir,” he declared, criticising political parties for staying silent out of fear of verbal abuse. He pledged to counter ideological subversion “in the same language” it is delivered.
He lamented that PaJK is now divided into three parts and reiterated that refugee seats are part of the constitution. Those elected to these seats, he argued, should be removed if they fail in their duties. He criticised the lack of government action against individuals issuing threats or making anti-state remarks, saying the region could not be left open to such provocations.
Addressing allegations that he “fled” abroad after August 5, 2019, Haider said his travel was part of an official Pakistani delegation tasked with lobbying internationally. “I can say with certainty that Imran Khan knew of the move,” he alleged, blaming the “fall of Kashmir” on then-Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
The imposition of the current system in PaJK, he added, had already resulted in three prime ministers being replaced.
Except for PaJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq, nearly all assembly members’ speeches began with a mention of August 5 but soon returned to refugee seats and the Awami Action Committee. Trapped in the whirlpool of local issues, the Assembly seemed to treat August 5 as little more than a symbolic reference.
Anwar-ul-Haq conceded that on August 5, 2019, the Kashmir issue was shrouded in a fog. But he said recent steps have once again made it a flashpoint on the global stage. He stressed that the constitution of PaJK represents the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, and Pakistan’s constitution gives the people the right to decide their future as a whole, not in parts.
He warned that politicising the refugee seats issue was an attempt to make the Kashmir question a purely regional matter. “All divisive narratives are designed to weaken the freedom struggle,” he said, emphasising that only assembly members have the right to amend the constitution.
In reality, however, a clear and consistent stance on August 5 was rarely seen in PaJK.
Local political instability, coupled with the dominance of branches of Pakistani political parties, means that priorities are often set in Islamabad. The weakening of indigenous parties like the Muslim Conference and Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Party—each holding just one seat in the assembly—has left no strong local voice inside the Assembly.
As a result, the legislature often follows the policies of Pakistan’s national parties. The events on August 5 this year showed that politicians in the region are so mired in domestic issues that the larger Kashmir issue itself is increasingly pushed to the margins.
In contrast, Pakistan’s National Assembly and the Sindh Assembly gave the 2019 events significant attention. The Sindh Assembly even passed a resolution condemning India’s actions and its human rights violations in Kashmir.
But at the public level in Pakistan as well, much coverage shifted toward the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s protest announcement on the same day—the anniversary of the arrest of their leader and former Prime Minister Imran Khan two years ago.
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