Voters in Pakistani-administered Kashmir or Azad Jammu and Kashmir are going to elect 45 Legislative Assembly members on July 25, 2021 and these lawmakers in turn would vote for the election of 5 women, 1 religious scholar, 1 technocrat and the single seat reserved for overseas Kashmiris. The process will make the total number of 53 MLAs in the AJK assembly.
A lot has been written on the subject including controversial nomination process, undemocratic clauses on nomination papers, electoral process and weak representative role of AJK government. My write-up will only focus the 12 seats apportioned to the 1947 refugees of Jammu Kashmir settled in Pakistan. It may be the reflection of historical nature of Kashmir conflict that while carving the electoral process in AJK, the pioneers kept the role of
AJK government as local authority (per UN mandated commission UNCIP) or it could have been a facsimile of post 47 Jammu Kashmir Constituent Assembly’s model at Srinagar. J&K Constituent Assembly kept 25 seats unfilled for AJK and GB according to the size of area and population. Whichever was the case, this gesture on both sides reflects the coherence of Kashmiri people and a rationale to keep reminding the concord of people divided and displaced amid the mayhem of post sub-continent’s division.
However, with the passage of time and leeway of Pakistani political parties in AJK in 1970s the situation got deceitful and led to a political mess instead of keeping Kashmir conflict integral and flourishing in the political and administrative corridors.
There are diverse opinions, sometimes belligerent and mostly of the sharp disputing views about these 12 seats for the J&K refugees settled in Pakistan. My opinion is not against the representation of J&K refugees settled in Pakistan in AJK assembly. They must have their representation in AJK assembly but the electoral process and representation needs certain immediate actions taken by the AJK government. Political hegemony and controversy centers nowhere more acutely than in this question.
