JKJAAC Reaffirms Commitment to Peaceful Constitutional Reform and Democratic Rights
The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee welcomes the detailed legal and constitutional response submitted by Jammu Kashmir Council on Foreign Affairs before the Supreme Court of Azad Jammu & Kashmir in relation to Presidential Reference No. 01/2026.
6/6/20262 min read
JKJAAC Reaffirms Commitment to Peaceful Constitutional Reform and Democratic Rights
The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee welcomes the detailed legal and constitutional response submitted by Jammu Kashmir Council on Foreign Affairs before the Supreme Court of Azad Jammu & Kashmir in relation to Presidential Reference No. 01/2026.
The submission makes clear that JKJAAC’s demand regarding reform of the twelve non-territorial/refugee seats is not a demand for any extra-constitutional action. JKJAAC has consistently maintained that any reform must be carried out through the lawful constitutional process, democratic dialogue, and the competent constitutional forums.
JKJAAC rejects the misleading portrayal of its peaceful public rights movement as coercive or subversive. The record shows that the issue of members elected from constituencies other than AJK territorial constituencies was formally recognised in the Article 2 (Xii) of the Muzaffarbad Agreement (3-4, October 2025 between JKJAAC, the Government of Pakistan, Azad Government of the State of Jammu and Kashmir and was referred for legal and constitutional deliberation through a High-Powered Committee.
This confirms that the matter is a legitimate constitutional and democratic question, not an unlawful demand.
JKJAAC has repeatedly participated in dialogue, submitted written positions, requested implementation of signed agreements, and called for transparent timelines, departmental responsibility, and a constitutional way forward. The movement has always stood for peaceful democratic engagement, public accountability, electoral fairness, and the basic rights of the people of Azad Jammu & Kashmir.
The legal response also highlights serious questions of electoral equality, vote weight, representation, and the democratic balance of the Legislative Assembly. JKJAAC believes these questions must be examined through facts, law, and constitutional principles rather than political mischaracterisation.
JKJAAC further clarifies that its position does not deny the identity, dignity, or rights of refugees and displaced State Subjects. The demand is for democratic recalibration, proportionality, transparency, and fair representation while preserving the wider constitutional identity of Jammu Kashmir and the historic rights of its people.
The committee reiterates that peaceful advocacy for constitutional reform is a democratic right. Demanding reform through lawful means cannot be treated as subversion. JKJAAC does not seek to bypass the Constitution; it seeks implementation of the agreed review process and reform through constitutional mechanisms.
JKJAAC calls upon the Government of Azad Jammu & Kashmir and the Government of Pakistan to honour the agreements already signed, revive and complete the High-Powered Legal and Constitutional Committee process, publish its findings, disclose relevant electoral data, and provide a clear, time-bound roadmap for implementation.
The people of Azad Jammu & Kashmir deserve fair representation, transparent governance, credible elections, public accountability, and respect for their constitutional and democratic rights.
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