AJK president stresses need for dialogue between AJK, G-B leadership

[Saiyan0321]

AJK president stresses need for dialogue between AJK, G-B leadership​

We want accession of whole of Kashmir to Pakistan, says Masood Khan
RAWALAKOT:
Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar Masood Khan has said that Pakistan will never take any decision which is detrimental to the UN resolutions on Kashmir or weakens the stand of the people of AJK.

"We want accession of the whole of Kashmir to Pakistan and this will be decided by the people of Jammu and Kashmir collectively," he said.

Addressing a public gathering in Berri village on Friday, Masood said that the people of the liberated territory including Berri had shed their blood for freedom and to become part of Pakistan but their mission is still unaccomplished.

He said that we must understand that Kashmir was being disintegrated by not Pakistan but India which on 31 October 2019, first bifurcated Kashmir into Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir declaring them part of the Indian Union, and the very next day, it released fake maps showing Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan as parts of India.

Pakistan, the AJK president said, is the only country which courageously and firmly stood with the Kashmiri people, and "we need to further strengthen our bonds with the state of Pakistan".

He went on to say that despite being divided in various political parties and having political differences, it is a matter of great pride for us that political leadership of the liberated territory is unanimous on the Kashmir issue, freedom from India and the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people.

"We feel the agonies and the pain of our brothers and sisters in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), and it is our national and religious obligation to help them to get rid of these miseries."

About Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), he said that all political parties of Azad Kashmir, All Parties Hurriyat Conference as well as Jamaat-e-Islami Gilgit and Jamiat Ulemae Islam have the same stand but other parties of Gilgit-Baltistan have a different stand on this issue. "Therefore, it is necessary that all the stakeholders sit together to make any decision about the future of this region."

Referring to the demands of the people of the area, Masood said that Rawalakot, Beirri, Pachiyot and all adjoining areas are beautiful gifts of the nature which "we should cherish and develop these areas to turn them into tourism hubs so that the economic conditions of the people can be improved and new employment opportunity in the areas could be created".

The development of the basic infrastructure of the area, he said, is a priority of the government to make these areas attractive for both domestic and international tourists. The president also said that in a democratic society the people do not need to pursue the rulers and their elected representatives for resolution of their problems but it is the duty of the elected representatives to go to the people and find out their problems and solve them instantly.

Earlier in their addresses, various speakers demanded that a monument should be built in memory of the martyrs of Beirri, provision of the basic health centre in the area, upgradation of Government Boys High School as college and construction of an examination hall to alleviate the difficulties of students.

The speakers also paid tributes to President Masood for his tireless efforts to resolve the Kashmir issue and raise the voice of the people of IIOJK in various forums of the world.

Chaired by the former AJK Legislative Assembly Speaker Sardar Siab Khalid, the function was also addressed among others by the PML-N leader Sardar Ashiq, Barrister Danish Riaz, Sardar Tauseef Aziz, Sardar Said Hussain Khan, Dr Mohammad Ali, Lala Mohammad Saghir, and traders' leader Hameed Sheikh.

AJK president stresses need for dialogue between AJK, G-B leadership | The Express Tribune

We want accession of whole of Kashmir to Pakistan, says Masood Khan

tribune.com.pk

 

[Saiyan0321]

Hmmm Well a meeting isnt a bad idea however Azad Kashmir has no longer any locus standi on the issue and this has been cemented by the courts of Azad Kashmir themselves. Let me highlight a bit

the case titled Malik Muhammad Miskeen and 2 others vs The Federation of Pakistan and the case was based on the growing calls for autonomy and governance issues that were rising in the region of Gilgit Baltistan which were largely ignored. They had filed the petition asking to be recognized as citizens of Azad Kashmir and for their grievances to be answered. The court passed a stunning judgment that shocked Pakistan. The Court held that there was no legitimate cause to keep the Northern Areas and their residents detached from Azad Jammu and Kashmir and their residents are State Subjects thus validly citizens of Azad Kashmir. The judgment passed by Chief Justice Abdul Majeed Malik, directed Pakistan government in providing maximum support in amalgamation of the region with Azad Kashmir and in extension of the writ of the Azad government over the region, establishment of a legal system that is connected to the Azad Kashmir legal system and the forward implementation of the Interim Constitution 1974 over the region. The judgment was seen by many in Gilgit Baltistan to be an attempt to balance out the Shia-Sunni demographic in the region since the petitioners were Sunni and were from the Sunni dominated Diamer region and the Shia of Gilgit Baltistan did not look at the judgment kindly especially after the 1988 sectarian riots that shook the region. They were not alone in this since Pakistan also saw this with horror as the region, which was historically seen by Pakistan as its own territory and had went through hell and forth to make sure the territory would be part of the Kashmir dispute but not part of Azad Kashmir. The judgment was immediately appealed by the Government of Pakistan and the appealed case titled The Federation of Pakistan vs Malik Muhammad Miskeen and 2 others and the case was decided on 14th September 1994 where the courts declared that the High Court of Azad Kashmir had acted beyond its powers and the order was declared null and void. The court observed that while Gilgit Baltistan was indeed part of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, however that was not the case for Azad Kashmir which had its territorial limits prescribed within the Interim Constitution 1974 Act and the courts of Azad Kashmir could not go beyond the constitutional limits that were set upon it and the government of Azad Kashmir could not establish constitutional administration over the region like that. Pakistan presented the Karachi Agreement to both the High Court and the Supreme Court however despite its perusal the former declared it a temporary arrangement whereas the former declared it as evidence of the fact that Gilgit Baltistan was not part of Azad Kashmir. While the judgment of the Superior Court did not mention to whom the region belonged, it did provide sufficient cause for Pakistan to declare its extremely controversial stance that while the region was part of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, it was not part of Azad Kashmir. While the government of Azad Kashmir would pass resolutions on this however the legal chapter on the status of Gilgit Baltistan and the limitations of Azad Kashmir was now closed.

Another time the same was decided again in a famous case 'Yasir Bashir vs Saba Yasir' where the courts of Azad Kashmir, the Superior Court declared that the territory of Princely State of Kashmir and Azad Kashmir are distinguishable since the territory of Azad Kashmir is covered in the Interim Constitution of 1974 and the government and courts of Azad Kashmir cannot break free from the limits imposed in the Interim Constitution where Azad Kashmir is defined as the following;

‘Azad Jammu and Kashmir’ means the territories of the State of Jammu and Kashmir which have been liberated by the people of that State and are for the time being under the administration of Government and such other territories as may hereafter come under its
administration;

So where does the Indian held Kashmir comes into this story. Well the superior courts declared that the words 'such other territories as may hereafter come under its administration', are meant to mean the territories under the occupation of India and Azad Kashmir holds administrative rights over that territory and its people however the same cannot be said for Gilgit Baltistan. The chapter of Muzaffarabad or Srinagar ever ruling Gilgit Baltistan is dead.