- The talks between the JAAC and the government committee did not produce results.
- The AJK SC has suspended a controversial presidential order.
- The government “immediately takes action upon instructions from the president.”
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry on Saturday ordered the government to withdraw the controversial presidential order that triggered protests in the region.
According to a statement, the President wrote a letter to AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, ordering the government to release all those detained under the ‘Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Ordinance, 2024’. .
The statement said that the AJK government immediately took action on the instructions of the President.
The development comes after the Awami Joint Action Committee (JAAC) started holding long marches against the controversial presidential order and its arrested activists at AJK entry points after negotiations with the committee formed by the government.
The wheel lock and roller shutter strike called by the JAAC entered its third day in several cities across the region, with markets, businesses and shopping malls remaining closed. Besides, the committee also called for organizing a long march today.
JAAC, a coalition of civil society rights activists in the region, is protesting against the ‘Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Ordinance, 2024’, which was suspended by the AJK Supreme Court this week.
Despite the suspension of the order, JAAC central committee member Shaukat Nawaz Mir said the strike would take place unless the order was formally revoked by the government and until the activists were released.
Mir also said more negotiations would take place tomorrow (Sunday) while the commission would also call for “siege” the region’s legislative assembly.
The protesters headed towards the Barakot entry point after talks between the ministerial team and the committee failed. Entry points in Poonch division and Kohala and Palandri entry points were also blocked by the protesters.
Moreover, the protesters also staged a sit-in at the point connecting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and AJK while others coming from Rawalakot, Bagh and Dhirkot reached the Kohala entry point.
On the other hand, Information Minister Pir Mazhar Saeed claimed that the government had released all the prisoners.
He said negotiations on the ordinance did not fail, adding that a committee has been formed, comprising people from all schools of thought, who will implement the committee’s recommendations.
It may be noted that the AJK government had banned rallies, processions and protest demonstrations a month ago through a presidential order and any violation could attract seven years in prison.
On December 3, the Azad Kashmir High Court stayed the government’s controversial presidential order.