AJK president seeks immediate withdrawal of contentious ordinance amid protests

Amid shutter-down strike and protests in the region, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry on Saturday directed the government to immediately withdraw contentious ordinance.  

The president, in a letter to AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, directed the government to release all persons detained under the "Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Ordinance, 2024".

The statement said the AJK government immediately initiated action on the president's instructions.

The president's directions come after the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) staged a long march against the ordinance and their arrested activists towards the AJK entry points after talks with the committee formed by the government failed.

The wheel-jam and shutter down strike called by the JAAC entered third day in several cities across the region with markets, business and shopping centres remain closed. Meanwhile, the committee also called to stage a long march today.

The JAAC, a coalition of civil society activists advocating for rights 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 ordinance, JAAC's core committee member Shaukat Nawaz Mir said that the strike would take place unless the ordinance is repealed by the government formally and until their activists are released.

Mir had also said that further negotiations will take place tomorrow (Sunday) while the committee will also give a call to "besiege" the legislative assembly in the region.

The protesters have moved towards entry point of Barakot after talks between the ministerial team and the committee failed. The entry points in the Poonch division and the Kohala and Palandri entry points have also been blocked by the protesters.

Moreover, the protesters have 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 has released all the prisoners.

He said that the negotiations on the ordinance haven't failed, adding that a committee has been formed which comprises people from all schools of thought who will implement the recommendations of the committee.

It should be noted that the AJK government had banned protest rallies, processions and demonstrations a month ago through a presidential ordinance and its violation could lead to seven years in prison.

On December 3, the Azad Kashmir Supreme Court suspended the government's controversial presidential ordinance.