Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday welcomed the agreement signed between the federal government’s delegation and the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, calling it a “great success for Pakistan and Azad Kashmir”, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
The agreement signed Saturday morning brings an end to days of tension and protests, with demonstrators dispersing, all roads reopened, and life gradually returning to normal in difference cities of Azad Kashmir.
PM Shehbaz Sharif congratulated the government team and the members of the Negotiation Committee for their “tireless efforts” in achieving the breakthrough. He also praised the JAAC for preferring peaceful dialogue over confrontation.
“Public interest and peace are our priority. We will continue to serve Azad Kashmir. Finally, conspiracies and rumours have died down, and all issues were resolved amicably. Alhamdulillah,” Shehbaz said in a statement issued in Islamabad.
The prime minister urged the people of Azad Kashmir to “avoid paying attention to rumours,” reassuring them that his government had always protected the rights of Kashmiri brothers and sisters, and would continue to do so.
Earlier, the federal government’s delegation has signed an agreement with the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) to end the ongoing protest and unrest in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said.
Talks between the JAAC, the AJK government and federal ministers over elite privileges and reserved seats for refugees broke down last week. Rival groups have since staged protests, trading blame for violence that marred what began as a largely peaceful movement in AJK. Fierce clashes between protesters and law enforcers have left at least 10 people dead and scores critically injured in the territory.
In a post uploaded on X timeline on Saturday morning, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said “Our negotiation delegation has signed on a final agreement with the AJK Joint Awami Action Committee. The protesters are returning to their homes. All roads have reopened.”
“This is a victory of peace. Long live Azad Kashmir,” the minister added.
The signing of the agreement comes after two rounds of talks between a high-level government delegation and the JAAC in as many days.
Chaudhry shared a copy of the pact on X, which listed 12 “decisions” taken and 13 “additional points”.
In order to oversee and implement the agreement, a Monitoring and Implementation Committee comprising representatives from the federal government, its AJK counterpart and the JAAC will be notified, the document said.
Besides Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and Kashmir Affairs Minister Amir Muqam from the federal government, the panel will also include two nominated representatives from the AJK administration and two members of the JAAC.
The committee will be responsible for dispute resolution, will formulate rules and regulations of the working methodology and define timelines for the implementation of every decision in the “light of budgetary allocation and other constraints”.
“The committee will also review existing perks and privileges/fringe benefits authorised to the judiciary, government officials and ministers in order to rationalise it,” the agreement read.
Tariq Chaudhry, Muqam, Interprovincial Coordination Minister Rana Sanaullah, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Yousaf, former adviser to prime minister on Kashmir affairs Qamar Zaman Kaira, ex-AJK president Masood Ahmed Khan and PPP leader Raja Pervez Ashraf were part of the government’s negotiating team.
From the AJK government’s side, Education Minister Diwan Ali Chugtai and Local Government Minister Faisal Rathore took part in the talks, according to a copy of the signed pact shared by Chaudhry.
Raja Amjad, Shaukat Nawaz Mir and Anjum Zaman Awan represented the JAAC.
Talking to media men, Rana Sanaullah echoed Tariq Chaudhry’s remarks, stressing that the government’s commitment to peace had prevailed.
Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal also confirmed that the agreement has been signed with Joint Awami Action Committee of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
In a post on social media platform X, Ahsan Iqbal said the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir have always stood at the frontlines of Pakistan's national cause, and their voice carries immense weight.
The minister said over the past weeks, we saw a difficult situation due to legitimate public concerns. He said it was the wisdom of local and national leadership and the spirit of dialogue that enabled us to resolve this stand-off peacefully, without violence, without division and with mutual respect.
Ahsan Iqbal said it is a victory of the people of AJK, Pakistan and Democracy. He said the JAAC raised voice of citizens and the government under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took these voices seriously.
He said they will work together for good governance and development in AJK.
On September 25, a deadlock emerged between the AJK government and the JAAC over the abolition of elite privileges and seats reserved for the Pakistan-based refugees from Indian-occupied Kashmir.
Subsequently, a shutter-down strike had paralysed AJK under a communications blackout since the start of this week as the JAAC continued for the acceptance of its 38-point charter of demands.
On Thursday, PM Shehbaz Sharif had expressed deep concern over the unrest in AJK, directing the negotiation committee to immediately proceed to Muzaffarabad and find an immediate and lasting solution to the issues.
The second round of negotiations was held in Muzaffarabad between the government team and the Public Action Committee.
Dr Tariq Fazal earlier stressed that most demands in the public interest had already been approved, while some requiring constitutional amendments were still under discussion. He maintained that “violence is never a solution” and expressed hope that all matters would be resolved through peaceful dialogue.
Reporter Awais Kiyani