Islamabad, Pakistan – Web Desk: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday announced it will not participate in the upcoming Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections, saying the decision reflects solidarity with the people of the region and its “principled stance” amid the prevailing circumstances.
The announcement comes as tensions remain high in AJK following the government’s ban on the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), with the group continuing its sit-in and vowing to sustain the protest until its “legitimate demands” are met.
“Expressing unwavering solidarity with the aspirations of the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, their right to self-determination, and their democratic rights, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has decided not to participate in the elections under the prevailing circumstances,” said PTI’s Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram in a statement posted on X. He clarified that the decision was not a political strategy but rather an expression of solidarity with the Kashmiri people.
PTI described AJK as passing through a “severe crisis,” claiming thousands of people in Rawalakot and other areas were staging sit-ins in support of their demands. The party alleged that several people had lost their lives due to the use of force by authorities and claimed the supply of essential goods from Punjab to AJK had been completely halted, causing hardship for local residents.
“Instead of pushing the Kashmiri people toward further political instability in such circumstances, their issues should be resolved immediately and justly,” the statement read. PTI further alleged that the ongoing situation was harming AJK’s constitutional, democratic, and political identity, and warned it was blurring the distinction between AJK and Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir — a stance the party said was damaging to Pakistan’s historical Kashmir policy.
According to the statement, the electoral process could not be considered credible while representative voices were allegedly being suppressed, political activists faced action, leaders were arrested, media restrictions remained in place, and freedom of expression was curtailed.
“Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf will not engage in the politics of power by ignoring the voice of the Kashmiri people. Our primary priority is to support the fundamental rights of the Kashmiri people, their democratic demands, and a politics based on justice. We will stand with the people, not participate in elections,” the statement added.
PTI said it would stay out of the elections until the situation returned to normal, concerns raised by political and public stakeholders were addressed, JAAC’s issues were resolved through mutual understanding, the election schedule was reviewed, and a genuinely free and level playing field was provided to all political parties.
The party said its political campaign would instead focus on advocating for the democratic rights of the Kashmiri people and seeking a just resolution to JAAC’s demands. PTI also announced the immediate suspension of all recommendations made by the AJK Parliamentary Board regarding ticket allocation, stating that no further progress on ticket issuance or any stage of the electoral process would occur until the political environment was restored.
“This decision has not been made based on any calculation of political gain or loss but in accordance with the expression of solidarity with the Kashmiri people, respect for democratic values, and the demands of principled politics,” the statement concluded.
Background
The recent unrest stems from deadly clashes in Rawalakot, where JAAC had been holding a sit-in outside the Combined Military Hospital. AJK police allege armed JAAC members opened fire on law enforcement in a planned attack, killing four personnel and injuring around 20 others — an account JAAC disputes, claiming security forces instead used tear gas and fired shells toward the hospital.
According to AJK police, three individuals linked to JAAC and four law enforcement personnel were killed during the protests, while JAAC maintains that seven people were killed and dozens injured after street firing occurred in the dark following an alleged power cut.
The clashes erupted amid a standoff between the AJK government and JAAC, coinciding with the announcement of AJK’s election date for July 27. The region’s 53-member legislative assembly includes 12 seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees — six representing the Jammu division (roughly 434,000 people) and six from the Kashmir Valley (roughly 30,000 people), an arrangement many view as disproportionate.
This is not the first bout of unrest in the region — AJK witnessed similarly turbulent protests last October, led by JAAC over demands for constitutional and governance reforms, in which at least nine people, including three policemen, were killed. Two days after that violence, the government and JAAC reached an agreement covering 12 core and 13 additional points, including the formation of a high-level committee to review the issue of reserved refugee seats.
