The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC) declared on Monday that it will hold a long march to the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly on June 9. This decision came after negotiations with a federal ministerial delegation failed to produce an agreement, organizers confirmed.
The announcement was made following a meeting of the committee’s core leadership in Muzaffarabad, chaired by senior member Shaukat Nawaz Mir. He stated that despite nine hours of discussions, no consensus was reached, and the planned protest would proceed as scheduled.
Mir urged residents to prepare by stocking essential supplies for at least one month ahead of the protest date. He emphasized that participants from all divisions of AJK would gather in Muzaffarabad for what he termed a mass mobilization.
He also cautioned that the situation might escalate into a prolonged shutdown. Mir warned that if authorities took any provocative actions before the march, it could trigger an earlier and extended lockdown. He highlighted that daily wage earners would suffer the most during any extended unrest and called on communities to support vulnerable groups.
Earlier on Saturday, talks between the federal delegation and JKJAAC leadership ended without resolution after more than nine hours. The dialogue aimed to persuade JKJAAC to call off its strike and address disputes related to its charter of demands, which included sensitive political and governance issues in the region.
The federal team comprised senior ministers from the ruling coalition, while AJK political leaders and opposition members also took part in the discussions. Participants noted that 37 out of 38 points in JKJAAC’s charter were deliberated, with the primary obstacle being the demand to abolish 12 legislative assembly seats reserved for refugees from Indian-administered Kashmir.
These refugee seats have long been a contentious issue in AJK politics, dividing parties due to their electoral significance. After a break, talks resumed in the evening and continued until 11:20 pm but concluded without agreement.
In a significant development, Federal Minister Rana Sanaullah stated that the dialogue process was ongoing and had not collapsed. He described the discussions as constructive, with proposals exchanged, and announced plans for an all-parties conference to further deliberate the matter. Another round of talks is expected on June 6 or 7.
Political analysts warn that prolonged agitation in AJK could complicate preparations for the anticipated general elections later this year, increasing pressure on already delicate political negotiations. JKJAAC has a history of leading large-scale protests over governance and resource allocation, occasionally bringing parts of AJK to a halt.
