In a formal press statement issued from Muzaffarabad, the central spokesperson for the Jammu Kashmir Peoples National Party (JKPNP) has categorically rejected—in strong terms—the allegations made by Pakistan’s Minister of State for Interior, Talal Chaudhry, describing them as entirely fabricated, baseless, and misleading. Talal Chaudhry had alleged a link between the public rights movement in Azad Kashmir and international terrorist groups as well as cross-border smuggling.
Responding to the state’s narrative, the JKPNP spokesperson stated that viewing the severe economic hardships and the struggle for rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir through a security lens is a dangerous state policy, which the party strongly condemns. Labeling the ongoing peaceful public struggle for fair electricity tariffs and affordable flour as a “foreign proxy” or an “extremist network” is merely a tactic to suppress political dissent.
The spokesperson noted that the federal minister himself admitted the government had held negotiations with the Public Action Committee and accepted 37 out of their 38 demands. We ask: if this was truly a “network of terrorist crimes,” why did the highest state officials sit at the negotiating table with them? Governments neither discuss constitutional rights with terrorist organizations nor agree upon public welfare packages with them.
The JKPNP has completely rejected demands for the establishment of “Faceless Courts” and the misuse of anti-terrorism laws against political activists. If the state truly possesses evidence against any individual, it should be openly presented in regular courts to ensure a transparent trial. Media trials and fabricated allegations will not be accepted under any circumstances.
The spokesperson clarified that the party stands firmly with the people of Jammu and Kashmir regarding their democratic and constitutional rights, as well as their demands for the right to protest and for administrative accountability. The entire movement for public rights cannot be targeted, nor can collective punishment be imposed, based on a few isolated cases or arrests.
The JKNPP warned the ruling elite that stripping the public of their fundamental and democratic rights in the name of counter-terrorism would breed further alienation, unrest, and political instability in the region.
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