End stalemate in AJK

THE ongoing tension in Azad Kashmir is not only badly impacting lives of the people in the liberated territory and adjoining areas of Pakistan but also has external dimensions as well but the Government seems to be in no hurry to resolve it in a satisfactory manner. It is also a reality that some hardliners among the ranks of the protestors are exploiting the situation through provocative statements and using it to create hatred against Pakistan. Political differences are considered a routine in a democratic polity but unfortunately we have a history of using them to settle scores ignoring implications of such tendencies for national unity and interests. There are parties and leaders in Pakistan that should have intervened much earlier to sort out the problem but they are not moving beyond rhetoric and PR tactics. This was highlighted by the abortive move of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who announced his intention to mediate but could not make any progress due to rigid stance of the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) and the Government and the latest initiatives of the TTAP delegation and announcement of Jamat-e-Islami to mediate. The delegation of the opposition parties was not allowed to proceed to Azad Kashmir and stopped at Sihala on apprehensions that they wanted to join protestors in Rawalakot. However, the leaders forming the delegation – including Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Allama Nasir Abbas and Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar – maintained that their objective was to visit the scene and listen to grievances and demands of Kashmiris. Abbasi claimed that they were going there for a good cause and it was necessary to interact with protestors for the purpose. The Government’s decision was apparently influenced by the assessment that the opposition parties were trying to use the issue to drum up support for the forthcoming elections in Azad Kashmir. In a related development, JI chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman announced that his party has accepted the re