Muzaffarabad — As preparations for upcoming elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir intensify, political strategies are shifting towards engaging the region’s leading dissidents, the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC).
Following a recent visit, PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari met with key regional political figures, including AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore. Concurrently, PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif is slated to address an election rally in Mirpur tomorrow.
These visits are interpreted as proactive efforts by the two major parties to establish themselves as active participants in AJK politics, where JAAC protests have centered on the demand to abolish refugee legislative seats.
Bhutto-Zardari’s trip coincided with documented attempts to communicate with the proscribed group, including a delegation from the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) led by Chairman Syed Qamar Raza, who met protesting leaders in Rawlakot on Wednesday. Although unconfirmed officially, Raza later acknowledged the meeting as a personal initiative to persuade the group to abandon violence, emphasizing his commitment to the welfare of the Pakistani diaspora and urging reconciliation amid regional tensions.
The OPF chairman’s outreach followed recognition by a JAAC leader of both Raza and Field Marshal Asim Munir for their efforts to address Kashmiri grievances, underscoring growing diplomatic engagement ahead of electoral timelines.
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