PM Rathore Proposes Talks Amidst AJK Clashes, Calls for Dialogue Return

Prime Minister Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore has offered to restart negotiations with the JAAC, urging protesters to return to the dialogue table.

Fatal clashes in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) have sparked competing accounts over casualties, governance grievances and political legitimacy. Official sources confirm at least seven deaths.

Recent unrest involved confrontations between law enforcement personnel and activists associated with the proscribed Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC). Authorities said the situation escalated during a planned long march attempt over the weekend, triggering heavy security deployment and subsequent clashes on the ground.

Police sources maintain that six security personnel, including three from Rawalakot police and one Frontier Constabulary member, were killed in separate incidents since June 6. Officials further claim that three protesters lost their lives due to internal firing during confrontations.

Civil society representatives and political observers argue that the absence of real-time reporting from remote regions of AJK has created an “information vacuum”, enabling unverified claims and heightened speculation to circulate widely on digital platforms.

Former chief justice of the region, Chaudhry Ibrahim Zia, said engagement remains the only sustainable option. “Negotiation is the only solution to any conflict. It can take place with any party,” he said, stressing the need for restraint given the region’s sensitivity.

Representatives of the Kashmir Bar Association argued that legal designation does not preclude political engagement aimed at restoring stability. Senior lawyer Haroon Riaz Mughal said that even opposing sides in armed conflicts eventually enter negotiations, adding that “dialogue is essential for peace and long-term stability”.

Legal fraternity members and regional bar councils have jointly called for de-escalation and urged stakeholders to pursue constitutional and political solutions.

A press conference held in Islamabad expressed concern over the deteriorating situation and demanded immediate dialogue between authorities and protest leadership.

The JAAC, which organised the protests and strike, had presented a wide-ranging charter of demands, including an end to the privileges enjoyed by the ruling elite, the abolition of 12 assembly seats reserved for refugees, and the scrapping of the quota system. The establishment and its representative political parties argue that eliminating those seats is only possible if the demanding party contests elections and enters the assembly through electoral victory.

This raises the question: what is more important, the clear will of the people or the rituals of any political system? Political developments indicate an attempt to de-escalate tensions.