JI Forms Peace Jirga for Kashmir Dialogue

6گھنٹے پہلے

JI Forms Peace Jirga for Kashmir Dialogue

ISLAMABAD, July 14: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Pakistan has established a high-level Peace Jirga to facilitate dialogue among key stakeholders in response to the ongoing political and public unrest in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), urging all sides to resolve the crisis through negotiations rather than confrontation.
The decision was taken at the inaugural meeting of the Kashmir Committee, constituted by JI Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman and headed by JI Vice Emir Liaqat Baloch. The meeting was held at the party's Islamabad office and attended by senior leaders from Pakistan and Azad Kashmir, including AJK JI Emir Dr Muhammad Mushtaq Khan, Vice Emir JI Pakistan Mian Muhammad Aslam, former AJK JI Emir Abdul Rasheed Turabi and Dr Khalid Mahmood Khan, AJK JI Secretary General Jahangir Khan, and several political, legal, business and civil society representatives.
Addressing the meeting, Liaqat Baloch said the Peace Jirga would establish contact with President Asif Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, influential state authorities, the AJK government, political parties, religious leadership and the Public Joint Action Committee to help find a peaceful solution to the current dispute.
The jirga comprises a broad spectrum of personalities, including former AJK President Sardar Masood Khan, former minister Farzana Yaqoob, Javed Maqbool Butt, Khawaja Saleem Bismil, Supreme Court Bar Association AJK President Raja Aftab, AJK Chamber of Commerce President Umar Shehzad Jarral, former Chief Justice (R) Syed Manzoor Gilani, former Justice Sardar Abdul Hameed, senior journalists Zahid Tabassum and Arif Bahar, Brigadier (R) Altaf, Naila Altaf Kayani, Sardar Farooq Tabassum, Maulana Syed Ataullah Shah and Muttahida Milli Yakjehti Council AJK President Maulana Imtiaz Siddiqui.
Baloch said that while elections in Azad Kashmir remained important for the democratic process, addressing people's pressing concerns was equally essential. He noted that Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman had consulted various stakeholders before announcing the Peace Jirga, a move welcomed by the people of Azad Kashmir and positively received by the Public Joint Action Committee, which appreciated JI's mediation efforts.
He expressed regret that government and state institutions had yet to respond positively despite the Joint Action Committee's willingness to engage in talks. He urged the authorities to immediately begin negotiations, emphasizing that intellectuals and civil society in Azad Kashmir also believed dialogue was the only viable path to resolving the crisis.
Liaqat Baloch warned that the continuing deadlock was damaging the Kashmir cause and appealed to all parties to avoid stubbornness and political ego. He stressed that protesters must remain peaceful while the state should refrain from creating conditions that could trigger violence. Condemning the loss of human lives and the use of force from any side, he called on the federal government, state institutions and political leadership—including the opposition—to play an active role in restoring peace. He also urged the government to resume talks on demands it had already accepted and to ensure timely, transparent and impartial elections in Azad Kashmir while respecting the people's democratic mandate.