Shehbaz Sharif condemns recent unrest in AJK and swears in new council members

During a ceremony in Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif voiced disappointment over recent disturbances in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, alluding to protests by the now-banned Joint Awami Action Committee and the subsequent crackdown that placed many activists under the region’s anti-terrorism act. He recalled an all-parties conference in Muzaffarabad where participants spoke freely but did not accept a proposal concerning the 12 refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly, leading to the law’s implementation.

Sharif praised the Pakistani military’s performance in the four-day conflict with India the previous year, crediting Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir. He congratulated four council members—Cha​udhry Latif Akbar, Mushtaq Ahmed Minhas, Cha​udhry Muhammad Saeed, and Cha​udhry Manzoor Ahmed—sworn in as a bridge between Pakistan and AJK, and urged the AJK president and prime minister to fulfill constitutional duties while promising federal resources for development.