Muzaffarabad – In a 38-point charter of demands, the Awami Action Committee (AAC) has called for ending 12 reserved seats for refugees from Jammu and Kashmir, a proposal that has sparked widespread concern. Observers view this demand as tantamount to abandoning the core issue of Kashmir.

These reserved seats are not merely political allocations but a living symbol of the unresolved Kashmir dispute. They remind the international community that millions of displaced Kashmiris, despite decades of exile, continue to uphold their identity and struggle for self-determination.

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“A Step Away from the Kashmir Cause”

Observers argue that removing these seats would not only weaken the Kashmir cause but also dishonor the sacrifices of those who gave their lives for the freedom of their homeland. The 12 seats, they say, are deeply tied to the blood and struggle of Kashmir’s martyrs, and abolishing them would amount to denying their sacrifices.

“The call to abolish these seats is, in effect, a move to bury the Kashmir cause,” critics note. “These seats testify to the ongoing plight and aspirations of displaced Kashmiris and symbolize Pakistan’s moral and historical bond with them.”

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According to critics, ending the refugee representation would not only isolate displaced Kashmiris but also bolster India’s narrative that the Kashmir issue is over and the region permanently divided.

“The refugee vote and their seats are the very chain linking Pakistan and Kashmir together,” analysts assert. “Abolishing them would strengthen hostile propaganda and undermine the moral continuity of the freedom movement.”

They further caution that any attempt to erase these seats would be seen as an attack on the identity and legacy of Kashmir’s struggle, a betrayal of its martyrs, and an acceptance of the enemy’s agenda.

A Reminder to the World

The reserved refugee seats in the AJK Assembly stand as a testament to the ongoing relevance of the Kashmir issue. They remind the world that despite displacement and political pressures, the question of Kashmir’s self-determination remains unresolved.

Ending this representation, critics argue, would mean erasing that reminder, burying the cause itself and advancing an agenda that undermines decades of sacrifice, resilience, and faith in justice and would render the refugees politically and symbolically voiceless on a global stage.