Anwarul Haq failed to reject the illegal demands of the Awami Action Committee and defend 3 million refugees, a joint press conference of Abdul Majeed Khan and Chaudhry Akbar Ibrahim
The three men were elected in the 2021 general elections on PTI tickets from LA-45, LA-38 and LA-42, respectively
Sajid Janjua, Daily Dawn, Dawn TV Report
Muzaffarabad: 3 more ministers of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) cabinet have resigned, two of whom have also demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, accusing him of failing to protect the constitutional rights of Kashmiri refugees.
It should be noted that earlier this week, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet Information Minister Pir Mazhar Saeed had announced his resignation from his post on the grounds of unavoidable reasons; however, a senior official in the Prime Minister’s Office told Nawa-e-Waqt/Dawn that the resignation had been received but had not yet been accepted.
Azad Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet Finance Minister Abdul Majeed Khan and Food Minister Chaudhry Akbar Ibrahim announced their resignations during a joint press conference at the Muzaffarabad Press Club, while Sports, Youth and Culture Minister Asim Sharif Butt sent his resignation directly to the Prime Minister.
The three individuals were elected from LA-45, LA-38 and LA-42, respectively on PTI tickets in the 2021 general elections.
The three seats are reserved for Kashmiri refugees who migrated to Pakistan after 1947, but the three ministers later joined the PTI defector group led by Prime Minister Anwarul Haq in 2023.
The three ministers announced their resignations in protest against the agreement reached between the federal government and the Joint Public Action Committee.
The agreement, among other things, discussed the issue of 12 seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees settled across Pakistan.
During the press conference, Abdul Majeed Khan and Chaudhry Akbar A Ibrahim described the Joint Public Action Committee as an unelected, stick-wielding group and said that the agreement reached without pressure and consultation actually gave legal legitimacy to an unconstitutional and morally indefensible demand.
They said that the agreement violated the fundamental rights of thousands of Kashmiri refugees and was a blow to the constitutional and political structure of AJK.
The ministers said that the campaign against the seats of refugees is actually a malicious conspiracy of a few businessmen and self-styled representatives, who want to achieve their limited interests in the name of reforms.
The resigned ministers said that the real target is not the government but the identity, representation and political status of the refugee Kashmiris, the same community that made immense sacrifices for the cause of the accession of Pakistan and Kashmir.
The two ministers took the stand that these seats are not a concession but a historical and conscious constitutional decision, which has been part of the political structure of AJK since 1947.
The presence of these seats is a constitutional acknowledgement of the sacrifices and long exile of those who sacrificed everything for Pakistan.
They said that the questioning of the presence of these seats by the Joint Public Action is tantamount to denying the suffering, identity and political struggle of those who have taken the patient journey of exile for accession to Pakistan.
He said that he has brought this issue to the notice of both the President of Pakistan and the Prime Minister in writing, and he will knock on every door to thwart the ambitions of those elements who are bent on creating a rift between the local and refugee Kashmiris and harming the cause of Kashmir.
Abdul Majeed Khan also shared his 2-page resignation on social media, in which he expressed his firm belief in the idea of constitutional accession of the state of Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan.
He wrote that it became impossible to continue working with the current government, as it failed to protect the constitutional rights of the Kashmiri refugees and did not show any willingness to take responsibility or take effective action for the serious constitutional violations.
He announced that he has no moral justification left to remain a part of the cabinet; therefore, he announced his resignation from today. However, he promised to continue raising his voice for the defense of the rights of the refugees of Jammu and Kashmir and their political and constitutional role.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj also expressed similar views in his resignation and said that Prime Minister Anwarul Haq had failed to reject the illegal demands of the Joint Public Action Committee and also to defend the rights of about 3 million refugees who came to Pakistan from occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
The two ministers accused Prime Minister Anwarul Haq of conspiring against the refugee members of the assembly and demanded his resignation.
Asim Sharif Butt said in his resignation that after the agreement, he and the people of his constituency have lost faith in the government, so he cannot remain a part of it.
It may be recalled that late last month, negotiations between the Joint Public Action Committee, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government and federal ministers on special privileges for the influential class and reserved seats for refugees failed.
After this, various groups began protests and strikes, which also erupted into violence. At least 10 people were killed and dozens were injured in these clashes.
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