Bilawal says will meet PM Shehbaz over AJK situation, issues to be resolved through talks

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, whose party holds the majority in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly, said on Sunday he would meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif over the current situation in AJK, asserting that issues would be resolved through talks. He said this while presiding over a meeting of the PPP AJK parliamentary party in Islamabad, a statement issued by the PPP said. The meeting was held as tensions gripped AJK, with the region’s government declaring the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) a proscribed organisation and the latter insisting on its demand to abolish 12 refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly. The group also plans to hold a protest on June 9, days ahead of June 27 elections in the region. The PPP statement said the partys political affairs in-charge Faryal Talpur was also present at the meeting on Sunday where the political situation in AJK was reviewed. “Consultations were held between Bilawal and parliamentary party members regarding the AJK situation,” it said, adding that parliamentary party members gave recommendations to Talpur on the matter. According to the statement, Bilawal expressed concern over the situation in AJK. “We have always prioritised the issues of Kashmiris,” he was quoted as saying. He added that political issues should be resolved through negotiations. “I will meet PM Shehbaz and a solution to the issues would be found through talks and the assembly,” he said. The meeting was held a day after AJK authorities launched a crackdown on the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), arresting scores of its leaders and activists from different areas. On Friday, the AJK government declared JAAC a proscribed organisation, days ahead of a planned protest by the group scheduled for June 9, stating that it was “engaged in terrorism” and had acted in a manner “prejudicial to peace and security” of the state. The group’s latest protest call centres on a highly contentious demand to abolish the 12