ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani multi-party opposition alliance accused police of stopping its leaders from visiting the unrest-hit Azad Kashmir to express solidarity with protesters on Monday, accusing law enforcers of violating their fundamental rights amid surging political tensions in the region.
The proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) civil rights group led protests against the region’s government this month, leading to clashes with law enforcers and increased political tensions. Officials have said more than 20 people were killed in protests this month.
The JAAC has been leading sit-in protests in Rawlakot and other cities of the region against reserved seats in the electoral assembly for refugees from Indian-administered Kashmir. The alliance alleges these seats are used by mainstream Pakistani political parties to influence the formation of the government in Azad Kashmir. The government denies this and has warned protesters against taking the law into their hands.
The Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) said in a statement that its leaders, including former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, veteran politician Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, were on their way to Azad Kashmir to express solidarity with sit-in protesters when they were stopped by police at Kahuta city in Rawalpindi district.
“Members of the delegation asked police officials under what legal authority they were being prevented from proceeding,” the TTAP said in a statement. “In response, the police stated that they had been instructed to stop the delegation on the basis of ‘orders from higher authorities.’“
The TTAP said its leaders protested the move, saying it was their right to engage in peaceful political activity and express solidarity with the people of Azad Kashmir. The alliance argued that preventing its leaders from proceeding without any legal order or written directive amounted to a violation of their fundamental rights.
The delegation said stopping them was equivalent to placing “restrictions on political freedoms.”
Azad Kashmir is one half of the disputed Himalayan Kashmir region that is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan but administered in parts by them. Tensions between the JAAC and the Azad Kashmir government surge with elections for the region’s legislative assembly slated to take place on July 27.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif accused protesters of aiming to disrupt next month’s polls through violent protests.
