DESPITE hurdles, doubts, speculation, a protest movement and delayed polls on seven out of 45 directly contested Legislative Assembly seats, the task of installing a new government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir has finally been accomplished.
asserted
task → delay → Jammu
Barrister Iftikhar Gillani was not selected or even recommended as a candidate for the office by the PML-N parliamentary party of the AJK assembly; rather, he was picked by the president of PML-N Pakistan.
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he → select → Pakistan
The choice was resented by some senior party leaders, including Shah Ghulam Qadir, the party president in AJK, who boycotted the assembly session that elected the PM.
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that → resent → PM
The key objection to Mr Gillani’s election as PM was not his relative inexperience compared to veterans such as former PM Raja Farooq Haider or former speaker Shah Ghulam Qadir but the mode of his election as an assembly member.
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objection → compare → member
He had lost his seat — the Muzaffarabad constituency, LA-29 — to his PPP rival in the election by over 3,000 votes.
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He → lose → votes
Still, he returned to the assembly on a seat reserved for technocrats.
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he → return → technocrats
There is no legal bar to the eligibility of a member who is defeated in the general election and subsequently elected on a reserved seat to seek the PM’s office.
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who → be → office
But many politicians believe that a PM should win the confidence of his constituency before seeking the coveted position.
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PM → believe → position
However, despite a turbulent electoral phase that had been ongoing for some months, the new government and PM have assumed office in AJK.
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government → assume → AJK
Given the PML-N’s clear majority in the assembly, the election of a new AJK president of the PML-N’s choice will likely be a formality.
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election → give → choice
The most important question, however, concerns the new government’s agenda and how far it can overcome the most serious challenges ever faced by an AJK government.
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it → concern → government
A negotiated solution must be found for all contentious issues.
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solution → negotiate → issues
In view of the circumstances surrounding the entire electoral process, the foremost challenge before the new government and the PM is to establish the government’s moral and performance legitimacy, even if one accepts its electoral legitimacy.
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one → surround → legitimacy
Opening the lines of communication with the outlawed Joint Awami Action Committee, engaging with the saner elements within the organisation, and convincing them to abandon the agitation will be the government’s first major test.
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Opening → open → agitation
If successful, it will pave the way for legitimacy of performance.
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it → pave → performance
Although the outlawed JAAC can justifiably be blamed for several irresponsible and anti-state utterances and actions, the fact remains that the defunct organisation has a sizeable following, especially in Poonch division, where, despite its best efforts, including organising phased polls, the AJK Election Commission could not hold elections in seven out of 11 constituencies.
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Commission → outlaw → constituencies
A sizeable crowd has been staging a sit-in for almost three months, partly paralysing civic life and links with the rest of AJK and Pakistan.
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crowd → stag → AJK
The confrontation and deaths of some agitators and law-enforcement personnel have polarised Kashmiris not only in AJK but also among the diaspora.
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confrontation → polarise → diaspora
This confrontation has damaged goodwill and the moral standing of authorities in AJK and Pakistan.
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confrontation → damage → AJK
The situation, therefore, must be defused immediately and a negotiated solution found for the contentious issues.
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solution → defuse → issues
It was unreasonable, arguably, for the outlawed JAAC to insist on immediately abolishing the 12 AJK assembly seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees settled in various parts of Pakistan.
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It → outlaw → Pakistan
This demand became even more absurd after the AJK Supreme Court ruled in June that the legislative assembly seats reserved for refugees were constitutionally protected and could not be abolished through executive action or street protests.
uncertain
seats → become → action
However, it is also true that the constitutional reforms on the allocation of seats between refugees from the occupied Kashmir valley and Jammu need to be seriously considered, along with the election procedure.
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reforms → consider → procedure
The election to the AJK assembly from various parts of Pakistan is generally heavily influenced by the federal and provincial governments during the poll cycle.
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election → influence → cycle
Now that the new legislative assembly is in place, it should seriously initiate deliberations on constitutional reforms.
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it → initiate → reforms
In general, the outlawed JAAC’s demands are not unreasonable and are mostly directed at welfare measures and better governance.
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demands → outlaw → measures
For example, the demand for a smaller cabinet and the abolition of lavish facilities for elected representatives and senior bureaucrats should be sympathetically considered, alongside calls for roads, tunnels, bridges, safe drinking water, and preventing development budgetary funds from lapsing.
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demand → elect → funds
Demanding empowered local governments and elected students’ unions is also fair.
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Demanding → demand → governments
These are not just JAAC demands, but what every Kashmiri and also many in Pakistan demand.
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Kashmiri → demand → Pakistan
The new government can build on the previous government’s acceptance of most demands and begin implementing the points already agreed upon.
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government → build → points
The new PM may begin by forming a smaller cabinet and cutting back on unnecessary protocol and unproductive spending.
uncertain
PM → begin → protocol
If tangible steps are taken early for better governance, a solid foundation may be laid for broader reconciliation.
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foundation → take → reconciliation
In the long term, both the federal government in Pakistan and the AJK government should consider granting AJK the same rights and privileges enjoyed by the four provinces.
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government → consider → provinces
The same goes for Gilgit-Baltistan.
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same → go → Baltistan
A constitutional way should be found to provide interim representation to AJK and GB in federal institutions such as parliament, the Council of Common Interests, the National Economic Council and the water regulator Irsa, without compromising our position on the Kashmir dispute.
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way → find → dispute
The denial of these rights over the last 80 years has become a major source of grievance.
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denial → become → grievance
The writer is president of the Pakistan-based think tank Pildat.
X: @ABMPildat
Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2026
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writer → base → Dawn
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