ISLAMABAD – The Muslim Conference, the ruling party of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and the Pakistan People’s Party are on the same page to amend the interim constitution act of 1974 to suspend election on the twelve seats reserved in Pakistan for Kashmiri refugees.
Well-placed sources told Pakistan Today on Sunday that senior AJK leaders Chaudhry Majeed, Chaudhry Yaseen and Chaudhry Lateef Akber had a brainstorming session with President Asif Ali Zardari on the issue. “They conveyed the consent of the Muslim Conference leadership in this regard to the president and informed him that the party leadership had to amend the interim constitution act to suspend the 12 seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees in Pakistan,” the sources said.
They said the political situation after the launch of the PML-N in AJK was also discussed in detail with the president. The sources said the PPP and Muslim Conference had united to give a tough time to the PML-N, as they believed that the 12 seats for Kashmir refugees needed to be allocated to the winner party, as per proportion of votes obtained in the upcoming elections in Azad Kashmir.
“These parties believe that 10 constituencies are in PML-N-dominated areas of Punjab, while the remaining two seats fell in MQM-dominated areas of Karachi,” the sources added. However, members elected from these 12 refugee seats have yet to be convinced for changes in the interim constitution act. The PPP and Muslim Conference are likely to face resistance from these elected members.
Total number of seats in the AJK assembly are 48, of which 12 are reserved for Kashmiri refugees living in Pakistan, one for Overseas Kashmiris, one for ulema and mushaikh, one for technocrat and 33 seats are for Azad Kashmir.
