PML-N to hold talks with JAAC after forming AJK govt: Sanaullah

PML-N senior leader and Prime Minister’s adviser on political affairs Rana Sanaullah on Saturday expressed confidence that his party would secure a two-thirds majority in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly.

He said that, after forming the government, resolving the concerns raised by the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) would be its top priority.

Speaking at a public gathering in Bagh, Sanaullah said Kashmir held fundamental importance for Pakistan and described the Kashmir liberation struggle as part of the country’s quest for completion.

“Pakistan remains incomplete without Kashmir,” he said, stressing that the ties between Pakistan and Kashmir could not be weakened by any force.

Sanaullah predicted that four additional PML-N candidates would win the remaining seats in the final phase of the AJK elections in Poonch Division and Bagh district and would enter the assembly within two days. He appealed to voters to back the PML-N to help the party achieve the required two-thirds majority

According to Sanaullah, the PML-N currently has 30 members in the assembly, including 24 elected representatives and six members on reserved seats. He said the party needed six more votes to reach the two-thirds threshold and expressed confidence that four of the remaining seats would be won on the 10th.

He further claimed that the PML-N could win five of the seven constituencies in Poonch Division where re-polling is scheduled. Reiterating his prediction of a two-thirds majority government, Sanaullah said the results reflected public confidence in PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and the development work carried out in Punjab.

Sanaullah said that if the PML-N succeeded in forming a two-thirds majority government within the next two to three weeks, negotiations with the JAAC would begin immediately. He described resolving the committee’s concerns as the government’s first responsibility and said most of its members were patriotic Kashmiris and Pakistanis.

He added that if a small number of individuals were attempting to create divisions or pursue a different agenda, political forces should work together to expose and defeat such efforts.

“We will defeat them and work for the success of Kashmir and its people,” he said.

The PML-N leader also took aim at PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari over his remarks about beginning a countdown for the government, warning that those seeking to initiate such a countdown would themselves face political consequences.

Sanaullah said the PML-N was already governing in Bagh and pledged that the party would honour the commitments made by Nawaz Sharif.

The third and final phase of the AJK electoral process is expected to attract considerable attention as political parties intensify their campaigns and attempt to secure enough support to influence the formation of the next government. Polling in this phase will take place in constituencies across Bagh, Haveli, Poonch (Rawalakot) and Sudhnoti.