Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK)

The article discusses the persistent center-periphery divide in Pakistan, highlighting regions like Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) facing unrest, economic deprivation, and oppressive governance. It critiques the colonial statecraft model of extraction, where resources from peripheral areas such as Dera Bugti and Gilgit-Baltistan are exploited without equitable benefits, exacerbating regional disparities.

Protesters and law enforcers clashed during a clearance operation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), resulting in two security personnel and seven Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) activists being killed. The government aimed to remove blockades disrupting movement of people and supplies, with clashes occurring in Poonch division, including at Mutyalmera and Baloch.

The PPP's candidate selection for AJK elections faces legal challenges over Asim Sharif Butt's disputed State Subject status. PML-N's Syed Shoukat Ali Shah plans to seek contempt proceedings against PPP leadership for awarding a ticket to Butt, whose certificate was declared invalid by official inquiries. The PPP also reversed candidate decisions in two constituencies.

Traders and transporters in Muzaffarabad announced the resumption of market and public transport operations from Sunday after security and fuel assurances, distancing themselves from the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC). They accused JAAC of shifting focus to political and constitutional issues, including demands to abolish 12 refugee-reserved seats in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s Legislative Assembly, which they claim deviated from initial public welfare goals.