Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf announced it will boycott the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly elections scheduled for July 27, saying it will not join the electoral process “in the current circumstances.”
A PTI spokesperson said the decision was not aimed at political gain or loss. The party said it had taken the step to show solidarity with the Kashmiri people and respect for democracy.
The Imran Khan-founded party said it would not participate until an independent, just and peaceful political environment was established in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
PTI linked its decision to protests organised by the banned Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee. The AJK government banned JAAC on June 5 under the Anti-Terrorism Act after violent protests.
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The ban came days before JAAC’s planned June 9 protest. The group had demanded the abolition of 12 AJK seats reserved for refugees from Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir who migrated to Pakistan after 1947.
PTI said Azad Jammu and Kashmir was facing a crisis, with thousands of citizens staging sit-ins across the region, including Rawalakot.
The party demanded an immediate resolution of Kashmiri citizens’ issues to prevent further political instability.
PTI also alleged that food supplies to the region had been stopped from Punjab. The federal government and the AJK police chief had earlier rejected the claim.
The party’s parliamentary board suspended all recommendations for issuing election tickets. The spokesperson said no progress would be made at any level until further orders.
