There have been protests in PoJK since the beginning of June on the issue of refugee seats. The Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), representing a wide cross-section of people, has been demanding the abolition of seats reserved for refugees in the State legislature. The demand was met with police firing. This resulted in the killing of 15 persons and injury to 200 others. The JAAC, which was leading the popular movement, has been banned under the anti-terrorism law. While the discontent continues, Islamabad has stepped up repression. The BBC reported that Government agencies are not allowing food, fuel, and medicines to be supplied to the territory.
Insulting Kashmiris
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khwaja Asif went further and stated that the people of Rawalkot and Mirpur are not Kashmiris. This has brought a demand by the PoJK’s Prime Minister, Faisal Rathore, for an apology from the Defence Minister. Khwaja Asif has bluntly stated that there was none yesterday, nor will there be any in the future.
Pakistan built the Mangla dam over the Jhelum in PoJK in 1967. The construction of the dam resulted in large-scale displacement of the people from Mirpur. They were resettled in the UK with the British Government generously providing visas. Pakistan has used the Mirpuri community in England for decades to propagate its position on Kashmir. The country’s Defence Minister now tells us that Mirpuris are not Kashmiris. He said they speak the Potohar language, which is close to Punjabi and is distinct from Kashmiri language. Why has Pakistan turned against the community that served its cause in external propaganda? Mirpuris supported the agitation in Rawalkot and Mirpur against the system of refugee seats in the PoJK Assembly. Their demand exposed how Pakistan has manipulated elections and governed the territory. The State legislature has a total of 53 seats, of which 12 are reserved for ‘Kashmiri’ refugees, and 8 are reserved for women and technocrats. Interestingly, the ‘Kashmiri’ refugees for whom 12 seats are reserved are not residents in PoJK. They are spread all over Pakistan in small numbers. In the last elections in 2021, the number of votes cast ranged from as few as 1500 to 6,000 in six constituencies representing ‘Kashmir Valley’. The small number of voters scattered over a large area allows for easy manipulation of election results.
It is no coincidence that elections in PoJK invariably bring to power the party ruling Islamabad. When Nawaz Sharif was the Prime Minister, PoJK was ruled by the local chapter of PML(N)
The election outcome in the 12 refugee seats is in the gift of the Federal Government. This gives Islamabad a solid bloc of nearly 25 per cent of seats in the State Assembly, which can be used to bring to power the party or candidate of choice. Invariably, this is the party ruling in Islamabad, or a candidate preferred by the Army Headquarters. This results in the distortion of the electoral mandate within PoJK. The system of reserved seats has been used by all the parties in Pakistan – PML(N), PPP, and PTI to bring their local chapter to power in PoJK. It is no coincidence that none of the mainstream parties are supporting the present agitation, which challenges the structure built by Pakistan to control the territory.
Reality About Refugee Seats
There are a total of 4,64,000 refugees spread all over Pakistan for whom 12 seats are reserved in PoJK Assembly. This includes 30,000 refugees from the ‘Kashmir’ Valley, who are allotted 6 seats. The remaining 4,34,000 refugees are from the Jammu Division; they are also allotted an equal number of seats. The overall population of PoJK is 3.2 million. The 30,000 ‘Kashmiris’ in Pakistan are less than 1 per cent of PoJK’s population. This minuscule ratio hardly gives Pakistan the mandate to appropriate the ‘Kashmir cause’. The disproportionate representation given to ‘Kashmiri’ refugees is meant to hide this fact. This has created an imbalance and a sense of grievance for the people from the Jammu region within PoJK.
It is no coincidence that elections in PoJK invariably bring to power the party ruling Islamabad. When Nawaz Sharif was the Prime Minister, PoJK was ruled by the local chapter of PML(N). After Imran Khan became the Prime Minister, the PoJK Assembly elections in 2021 brought to power a PTI Government headed by Abdul Qayyum Khan Niazi. After Imran’s ouster, Niazi had to leave following the adoption of a No-Confidence Motion against his Government in the State legislature. Interestingly, the No-Confidence Motion was brought by the ruling party; not the opposition. The opposition parties – PPP and PML (N) boycotted the session. PoJK has the Pakistani version of democracy.
Islamabad’s Instrument of Control
The PoJK Supreme Court declared that the reserved seats for refugees are provided under the territory’s Constitution, and cannot be abolished through ‘administrative measures, political agreements or public pressure.’ This amounts to slamming the door shut in the face of the demand for reform. Under Article 33 of the PoJK Constitution, any amendment will require not only the 2/3rd vote of the total membership, but prior approval of the Government of Pakistan. This gives Pakistan a veto right over any change in the Constitution which is designed to preserve Islamabad’s hold on PoJK in perpetuity. The refugee seats allow Pakistan to play the role of a king maker. Why will they give it up?
Under the 13th amendment of PoJK’s constitution in 2018, Pakistan has assumed direct legislative and executive powers on 32 subjects within the territory. The elected assembly and government of PoJK has now more limited powers than a Federally Administered Area in Pakistan or a Union Territory in India. Pakistan’s approval is needed to undertake legislation even on the remaining 22 subjects within PoJK.
What is called PoJK or ‘Azad Kashmir’ is only 15 per cent of the total area of J&K under Pakistan’s illegal control. The remaining 85 per cent of the territory was called the Northern Areas originally. It has since been renamed as Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B). The change in name is not an innocent act. This is to disguise the fact that Pakistan has altered territorial status quo – an essential condition for a plebiscite. Under Gilgit Baltistan Order of 2018, Pakistan has abolished the entire list of 61 subjects on which the local Assembly could legislate in the past. All the legislative and executive powers in the territory are now vested in the prime minister of Pakistan. This makes the situation in G-B even worse than in PoJK. The territory is more tightly controlled because of its strategic location. CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) passes through G-B.
Both the changes – 13th amendment of PoJK constitution and the Gilgit-Baltistan Order of 2018 were adopted in 2018, a year before Article 370 was abolished in India. Pakistan now exercises direct legislative and executive powers within the two territories. While India was criticised, the far-reaching changes within PoJK and Gilgit-Baltistan went unnoticed.
As the election in PoJK in July draws closer, the people of the territory will face more suppression by the Pakistani establishment.
