After a two-day meeting, the Jammu and Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) in Pakistan-administered Kashmir has given the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government a deadline of May 31, 2026, to make progress on constitutional and electoral reforms, making it clear that if the demands are not accepted, a long march and an indefinite lockdown will be launched on June 9, 2026.
A statement issued after the meeting said that the committee’s core team has declared immediate constitutional and electoral reforms indispensable for holding transparent, fair and impartial elections in Azad Kashmir.
According to the committee, holding elections without implementing the October 4, 2025 agreement and eliminating the 12 disputed seats established in the name of refugees residing in Pakistan would be a “deviation from the public mandate”.
The statement clarified that JAAC is not against the democratic process, but any attempt to influence public opinion through “unfair representation” in the current electoral structure will not be accepted. In this regard, the demand for the establishment of an independent Election Commission, new delimitations based on population and other reforms was reiterated.
The committee said that it will continue negotiations with the government’s Monitoring and Implementation Committee to implement the October 4, 2025 agreement and the Charter of Demand, but will “not be bound by any moral obligation” after the deadline.
According to the statement, a long march will start from Bhimber and Mirpur on June 9, which will turn into a sit-in in front of the Legislative Assembly in Muzaffarabad, while an indefinite lockdown will also be imposed throughout Azad Kashmir. The public has been appealed to make advance arrangements for the long march.
Furthermore, JAAC also announced to launch a public outreach campaign, activate ward committees in different districts and organize conferences on the theme of “Right to Property and Right to Governance”. Overseas Kashmiris were also appealed to play a role in the long march.
The declaration demanded the immediate release of activists and leaders arrested in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, while condemning the case registered against Corps member Shaukat Nawaz Mir as a “curb on freedom of expression”.
The committee on education welcomed the establishment of new education boards for Muzaffarabad and Poonch divisions, but expressed concern that the attempt to transfer resources from Mirpur Education Board to meet their expenses could increase regional divisions.
Finally, JAAC warned the government to use the Rs 10 billion grant allocated for the Electricity Department transparently and on merit, otherwise there would be a public backlash.
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