AJK Assembly to Vote on Resolution Against Khawaja Asif's Remarks

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 AJK Assembly Set to Vote on Resolution Condemning Khawaja Asif's Remarks as Rawalakot, Mirpur Tensions Persist

The Pakistan Times — Islamabad, July 29, 2026

Azad Jammu and Kashmir's Legislative Assembly is expected to vote Wednesday on a resolution condemning remarks made by federal ministers, including Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, even as tension remains high in Rawalakot following violent clashes between the banned Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) and law enforcement, and after a separate deadly confrontation in Mirpur.

 the Resolution Says

The resolution was submitted by Pakistan Peoples Party MLA Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob Khan during Wednesday night's session of the Kashmir assembly in Muzaffarabad, according to BBC Urdu. It condemns statements made by federal ministers regarding unrest in Kashmir and calls on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to take notice of the matter. The resolution additionally demands that no action be taken in Rawalakot until a "Truth and Reconciliation Commission" is established to examine the recent violence.

The Controversy Behind It

The resolution traces back to remarks Khawaja Asif made in a television interview, in which he said Rawalakot, the site of sustained JAAC-led protests, was "not Kashmir" and that he did not consider its residents to be Kashmiris, according to reporting from The Express Tribune. Asif later clarified on social media platform X that "Kashmiriat is defined by the sacrifices and struggles waged over almost eight decades" by Pakistanis, Kashmiris, and others, "not by birth certificates." Despite the clarification, Asif stood by the substance of his remarks in later comments, telling a private television programme that a clear distinction needed to be drawn between those who had made sacrifices for the Kashmir cause and those who had not, according to the Express Tribune.

According to Daily Parliament Times, Sardar Yaqoob Khan, a former president and prime minister of AJK, had separately said the remarks "hurt the sentiments of the Kashmiri people" and deserved strong condemnation, while stressing that Kashmir remains a highly sensitive issue requiring careful and responsible handling from senior officials.

Reaction in Pakistan's National Assembly

The remarks previously triggered a heated debate in Pakistan's National Assembly, where PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman criticised Asif over his comments, according to Dawn. Former prime minister and PPP leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf went as far as to offer an apology on Asif's behalf to the people of Rawalakot, calling the remarks "irresponsible" and "detrimental to the Kashmir cause," according to the same Dawn report.

Ongoing Unrest in Rawalakot and Mirpur

The assembly resolution comes against the backdrop of continuing tension in Rawalakot, where clashes between JAAC supporters and law enforcement have left casualties on both sides, according to police and JAAC accounts that have differed sharply on the death toll. According to Al Jazeera's reporting on the broader unrest, which has spanned Muzaffarabad, Rawalakot, Mirpur, Kotli, and Bagh since demonstrations began on June 7, protests have centred on JAAC's demand to abolish 12 AJK assembly seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees residing elsewhere in Pakistan, a demand that intensified after Azad Kashmir's Supreme Court ruled the seats were constitutionally protected. Separately, unrest in Mirpur this week left at least one person dead following a clash between JAAC workers and police, according to a senior police officer who spoke to BBC Urdu, though JAAC's account of that incident differs from the police version and neither has been independently verified.

What Comes Next

According to BBC Urdu, voting on the resolution in the AJK Legislative Assembly was expected Wednesday, though the outcome had not been confirmed at the time of publication. The Pakistan Times will continue to follow developments as the assembly's session concludes and the broader unrest in Rawalakot and Mirpur continues to unfold.

Read More:»»Why Saudi Arabia Can No Longer Stay Out of the Iran War

Sources: BBC Urdu, Dawn, The Express Tribune, Daily Parliament Times, Al Jazeera

© The Pakistan Times. All rights reserved.

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