By Irfan Malik
ISLAMABAD; PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Friday reaffirmed his party’s commitment to resolving the ongoing political turmoil in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), stressing that the Pakistan Peoples Party has a long-standing reputation for providing “political solutions.”
Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, Bilawal said the PPP was now in a position to form the government in AJK after its strength in the 53-member Legislative Assembly rose to 27 — following the joining of ten members elected on PTI tickets in 2021.
Bilawal said, “PPP is the majority party in Kashmir and remains fully committed to resolving the issues of its people and fulfilling their hopes and dreams.”
He said the current AJK Assembly would be a “test” for the PPP until the next elections, but the party would remain steadfast. “PPP’s foundation was laid on the cause of Kashmir,” Bilawal said, adding that “three generations of PPP leaders have struggled for this cause both nationally and internationally.”
Reflecting on past elections, Bilawal recalled, “We all know what the circumstances were during the last polls under Khan sahib’s government and the establishment’s role at the time. PPP had won, but their victory was taken away overnight — the same script was used in Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.”
He lamented that “non-political attitudes” had created a vacuum in AJK politics, which, he warned, could harm the people and weaken the Kashmir cause internationally.
Bilawal stressed that PPP was “the only party capable of representing the voice of Kashmir both within Pakistan and abroad” and vowed to give a “befitting response” to any conspiracy against AJK. “I promise the people of Kashmir, I will not disappoint you,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, a joint no-confidence motion against AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq — signed by PPP and PML-N lawmakers — has been finalized, though PPP has yet to announce its nominee for the premiership.
Sources said President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had endorsed the plan, and the PPP’s candidate would likely be revealed after a meeting of the party’s AJK parliamentary group later today.
Earlier this week, PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira, alongside Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Adviser Rana Sanaullah, said the existing AJK government had “become a source of crisis instead of providing solutions,” confirming that PPP and PML-N had agreed to move a no-confidence motion.
Meanwhile, AJK PM Anwar-ul-Haq, who had earlier considered resignation, has reportedly decided to stay in office and face the no-confidence vote.
