The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday announced a boycott of the July 27 Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) general election, claiming it will stand with the public amid ongoing unrest stemming from demands for the abolition of 12 seats for refugees.
“Expressing unwavering solidarity with the aspirations, right to self-determination, and democratic rights of the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the PTI has decided not to participate in the elections under the current circumstances,” read a statement issued by PTI regional president and former AJK prime minister Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi.
He claimed the decision did not reflect any political strategy, but rather a principled stance aimed at aligning with the public. Referring to the ongoing demonstrations in the region, he noted thousands of citizens continued to stage sit-ins at Rawalakot and other areas. He also regretted that several precious lives had already been lost due to the high-handedness and use of force by the government.
Niazi also alleged the suspension of food supply lines from Punjab to AJK had left the populace in severe economic distress. Both the federal government and the AJK police chief have rejected this.
“In such circumstances, instead of pushing the Kashmiri people towards further political instability, an immediate and just solution to their problems must be found,” said Niazi.
The PTI leader maintained the government’s current administrative measures were eroding AJK’s constitutional, democratic, and political identity. He claimed the “engineered” environment was blurring the fundamental distinction between ‘Azad’ and ‘Occupied’ Jammu and Kashmir, stressing this was damaging to Pakistan’s Kashmir policy.
Niazi said the electoral process loses its credibility when the public is out on the streets, representative voices are muzzled, political workers and leaders face arrests, and strict curbs are placed on the media and freedom of expression. “The PTI will not engage in the politics of power by ignoring the voice of the Kashmiri people,” he said, adding the party’s topmost priority remained the protection of basic human rights and a justice-based political process.
The former premier said the party would only return to the democratic process if normalcy were restored, grievances of all political and public forces genuinely addressed, and the issues raised by the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) resolved through mutual understanding. He also demanded a delay to the polls to ensure a level playing field for all political parties.
The JAAC has been staging sit-ins outside Rawalakot since June 9, demanding the abolition of 12 seats reserved for refugees who migrated from Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) to Pakistan after 1947.