MUZZAFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government on Sunday repealed the controversial presidential ordinance after it reached an agreement with the Jammu and Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee on 16-points following negotiations.
According to the notification issued here, the AJK government has withdrawn the controversial presidential ordinance following successful talks between the government and the Joint Public Action Committee (JAAC).
The protestors received the notification of the repeal of the ordinance after which they announced that their sit-in was over.
The Joint Action Committee also announced the end of the lockdown and said that people could now resume their businesses.
The points agreed upon between the two parties were:
1- The ordinance will be withdrawn.
2- All prisoners will be released.
3- The parties agreed on changes in the power tariff.
4- Domestic consumers will pay their electricity bills in 36 installments.
5- All FIRs registered since May 2023 will be cancelled today.
6- The notification regarding the property tax will be issued today.
7- Barring 50, all FIRs will be cancelled within 30 days.
8- Sacked government employees Sohaib Arif and Danial Arif will be reinstated within seven days.
9- The brother of Azhar, who was martyred during protests, will be given permanent government job within seven days.
10- Each injured person will be paid Rs1 million within seven days.
11- The meter connections of the houses, which were bulldozed during the expansion of the Mangla Dam, would be severed.
12- The Punjab government will pay for the repair of the Azad Pattan to Soan Road, which had been damaged during the construction of the Azad Pattan Dam.
13- In future, electricity meters will be purchased through E-tendering.
14- The quality as well as the allocation of flour will be increased.
15- Funds will be released to the local bodies’ office-bearers.
16- A committee will be formed for holding student union elections, and that the
Charter of Demands will be implemented in six months.
On Saturday, talks between the Joint Public Action Committee and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Ministerial Negotiation Committee had failed.
Protesters marched towards the entry point Barrakot in Muzaffarabad. In Poonch division, protesters blocked the Kohala entry point and Dhalkot entry point in Palindri.
Shaukat Nawaz Mir, a member of JAAC, told the media that the deadlock persisted.
On the call of the JAAC, a wheel jam and shutter-down strike continued on the third consecutive day on Saturday after talks failed. During the strike, all businesses, including shops, hotels and even medical stores, remained shut, while no public transport was on the roads.
The JAAC, a coalition of civil society organizations, is protesting against the “Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Ordinance, 2024,” which was suspended by the AJK Supreme Court this week.
The JAAC claims the ordinance as a move to suppress the group and infringed upon the people’s constitutional right to peaceful assembly and expression. It demanded the withdrawal of the ordinance.
On Tuesday, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Supreme Court suspended the enforcement of “Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Ordinance, 2024,” while admitting two appeals against a high court ruling that had upheld the contentious law.
In May, the Awami Joint Action Committee announced to end ongoing protests in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) against soaring inflation a day after the government accepted their demands.
It is pertinent to mention here that Azad Jammu and Kashmir witnessed violent clashes between the police and activists of a rights movement amid a wheel-jam and shutter-down strike across the territory, which left at least three people dead and several others injured.
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