PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday said the upcoming election in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) was perhaps the “most significant” in the region’s history, saying its future was tied to the outcome.
He was addressing a public rally in Mirpur, AJK. Bilawal pledged that PPP will restore all rights of the people of the valley if people repose their confidence. He said that in a democratic society, each and every citizen has complete rights to an opinion of his own choice. He urged the state to accept the demands of the people.
Bilawal said former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto gave Pakistan a unanimous constitution and laid the foundation of the country’s nuclear programme.
“Today, Pakistan is the only nuclear power in the Islamic world,” Bilawal said, adding that President Asif Ali Zardari also created history by completing Benazir Bhutto’s unfinished mission through the 18th Constitutional Amendment.
He said the PPP and its workers would now join hands to write a new chapter in history and ensure a better future for Azad Kashmir.
Bilawal further claimed that history would remember the PPP for providing ownership rights to the people of Kashmir. PPP chairman lamented that PML-N senior minister remarked that the people of Mirpur and Rawalakot were not Kashmiris. He said neither the minister nor the government clarified their position.
“I want history to remember that Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and the PPP gave the people of AJK the right to self-governance, the right to employment and the right to determine their own future.”
The PPP scion added that he had promised the people of Gilgit-Baltistan the right to self-governance, the right to employment and greater self-rule, and had won the election on that manifesto.
“I want to tell you that I will ensure the right to self-governance, the right to employment and greater self-rule for the people of GB,” he said.
Referring to AJK, the PPP chairman said he had brought the same manifesto to the region. In simpler terms, he said he wanted the people of Kashmir to enjoy the same rights as those available to the people of Pakistan and India.
He stressed that he would ensure the right to self-government for AJK while also defending its narrative at international forums. “It is 100 per cent possible that we give rights to the people of AJK and also continue their struggle for freedom and advocate their case at international forums,” Bilawal said.
Bilawal said the PPP was the only party that sought justice for the 12 refugee seats. He further stated that he did not agree with those who argued against refugee representation or giving voting rights to refugees, adding: “I say give the vote to refugees, give them representation, but Punjab or Sindh will not decide for Kashmir; only Kashmir will decide for Kashmir.”
He vowed that if the people of AJK gave the PPP a two-thirds majority in the upcoming election, the party would bring an amendment to the AJK Constitution to ensure justice for both the people of AJK and refugees.
The PPP chairman said AJK should have representation in Pakistan’s decision-making bodies on an observer or provisional basis so that it could raise its issues there.
“Instead of protesting on roads, you should raise your concerns in the Centre; this is my manifesto.” He also recalled that he had proposed the formation of a truth and reconciliation commission to resolve the ongoing issues in AJK.
Moreover, he said he had instructed the AJK PPP president to write a letter to the AJK Election Commission, questioning the transparency of the elections, as political parties were unable to run campaigns on social media, and urging the federal government to restore internet services.