Pakistan in Media

The News International, Pakistan, Saturday, October 17, 2009

The Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly is to vote in its third prime minister, after Sardar Yaqoob ended his nine-month stint in power by resigning hours ahead of a vote of no confidence. The architect behind the vote is said to be former AJK prime minister Atiq Ahmed Khan, who was toppled in an almost identical fashion in January this year. Even the charges mentioned in the no-confidence motion – corruption, mismanagement, misuse of power – are virtually unchanged. The coalition headed by Sardar Yaqoob, himself an independent candidate, consisting of a disgruntled faction of the Muslim Conference, the PPP in AJK, the MQM and other miniscule groups, had always lacked stability. This indeed has been the story of legislative politics in AJK since the 1970s, when elections were introduced in the territory. But what is disturbing is that since that time, events in Muzaffarabad have consistently been manipulated from outside. This time too, Atiq Ahmed Khan is said to have held various meetings in Murree before going ahead with his no confidence plan. There is conjecture too that Sardar Yaqoob was advised to step down, after discovering he had lost assembly support.

We do not yet know what the principal purpose behind these moves may be. In the context of the wider political situation in Pakistan, it is possibly significant that Atiq Ahmed Khan turned down a request from President Zardari to avoid seeking a no- confidence vote. But beyond all this, it is unfortunate that the people of AJK have not been granted the autonomy of choice that Pakistan avers should be their right. In the territory feelings run high against intervention from forces in Pakistan. People have repeatedly been denied their right to move ahead with decisions and the political structure remains weak. All this works against the interests of the people of Kashmir who once again see political turmoil.

The Prime Minister of Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Sardar Yaqoob Khan, has stepped down after losing support, but says he has resigned “to avoid a political controversy in the Legislative Assembly”. But he has hinted at horse-trading which he thinks will be discouraged by his resignation. He mercifully did not dissolve the assembly, thus sparing a new election during a season where everyone is scared of holding elections.

Sardar Sahib had put together his patchwork government after ousting Sardar Atique Ahmed’s Muslim Conference government in January. And Muslim Conference had been in power since July 2001 when the government of the AJK People’s Party was toppled after powerful jihadi organisations had accused it of being sharabi (addicted to alcohol) and of taking graft. Sardar Yaqoob had done the same sort of thing to Sardar Atique in January, accusing the Muslim Conference of graft and proving his point by plucking its members out of the house majority.

Sardar Atique had left in a huff in January, accusing the PPP in Islamabad of stage-managing his ouster. Now it seems the members who had deserted him have sniffed the air once again for change in Islamabad and decided to switch horses in the middle of the race. The PPP in Islamabad is projected by the media as being on the back-foot with the army. That is enough to undermine political conviction in a “frontline” region with a Constitution that vests authority not in parliament but a ministry in Islamabad.

AJK has remained unstable because of jihad. If a government becomes too innovative in policy it is shown the door. Sardar Atique in January had endorsed the victory of the National Conference on the Indian side and had agreed with its rejection of jihad. But Sardar Farooq’s government that replaced his was a patchwork of dissidents and couldn’t last; the AJKPP had walked off crying foul. With a thin plank of support to walk, Sardar Farooq was expected to fall, which he has.

Daily Times, Pakistan, Friday, October 16, 2009

Daily Times, Wednesday, July 01, 2009
LAHORE: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) police have claimed the banned Jamaatud Dawa is expanding its operations and recruitment in the region.

A confidential report submitted to the Pakistan government has revealed that the group had purchased 65 kanals of land in the Dulai area of Muzaffarabad to construct a mosque, a school and a dispensary, a private TV channel reported. AJK Inspector General of Police Javed Iqbal told the channel his force was closely monitoring the group’s activities.

Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, however, denied that banned Pakistani groups were expanding their activities. “No such report has come before the government claiming these organisations have revived their activities,” he told the BBC. However, he added, it was a different matter if it was submitted by an intelligence agency. daily times monitor/online
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The News International, Pakistan, Saturday, June 27, 2009
The first targeted suicide bombing has killed two soldiers in Muzaffarabad. Till now, Azad Kashmir had not been caught up in the bitter war between militants and the military being fought in Pakistan. The attack on an army vehicle has dangerous implications. The Kashmir area has a sizeable military presence, given its disputed status with India. The potential for attack is immense. Such a development could also bring extremist forces still based in Kashmir into the conflict and thus make it even more complicated than it already is. The expansion of the war is something Pakistan must avoid at all costs. The militants have indeed used similar tactics in the past, by bringing the bloodshed into cities and towns across the country. They may be planning a similar strategy in Kashmir. There is indeed also growing desperation in the militant camp, given the onslaught of the military. The visit by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to South Waziristan underlines the determination to tackle the militants. What is important at this point is to work towards ending the war as soon as possible. This of course is easier said than done. The killings in Muzaffarabad demonstrate once more that we are dealing with a ruthless enemy. The Taliban must be prevented from succeeding in this. There is a need also to build opinion in Kashmir against terrorism and by doing so possibly prevent that region too stumbling into a war that has already taken a heavy toll on almost everyone who lives in this part of the world.
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