Daily Diary (DD) - Day 199 of 2020

1424hrs:

So it has become apparent that the AJK Assembly has plucked up the courage to reject Pakistan's proposal (read order) for the 14th Amendment which would have reversed most of the gains achieved in the 13th Amendment. Everything is still under a cloud which is true to form of the Pakistani State, which has relied on obfuscation as its most potent weapon since 1947.

One needs to go through the proposal - which cannot be guaranteed to be the actual version - not least because it gives an impression that it has been proposed by the AJK Assembly itself when in fact it came from the direction of Pakistan's federation, apparently on the 20th of June this year. Here's a copy of what is publicly available:

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The rejection of the above proposal (or direction) by the Pakistani State to amend the constitutional framework (which is in fact not constitutional as it has no local input and was imposed in 1974) operating in AJK was rejected unanimously by the AJK Assembly. Here's a press release in Urdu to that effect. It was made public yesterday but has a time stamp of the day before yesterday:

As it is in Urdu, public interest would dictate that I translate it into English for the benefit of our English speaking public as well as the world at large.

Thus:

(The) Free Government of the State of Jammu & Kashmir

(Press Release)

An extraordinary convention of the Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) cabinet took place on the 15th of July 2020, presided over by Esquire Prime Minister - (of the) Free Government of the State of Jammu & Kashmir - in the cabinet committee room (Prime Minister's Secretariat) Muzaffarabad. Also present in the meeting were (representatives of) the Department of Law and the Department of Kashmir Affairs. The documentation received from the Government of Pakistan, in reference to the (proposed) constitutional amendment on the 22nd of June, was discussed and reflected on at length. The cabinet made the following decisions on the subject of the proposed documentation:

i) 
The cabinet has not completely agreed with the constitutional amendment documentation.

ii) 
It is the collectively agreed opinion of the cabinet that the State of Jammu and Kashmir has an ideological relationship with the motherland of Pakistan, which is a manifestation of the undying aspirations of the Kashmiri people. This is not merely the ownership of an individual, party or government but in fact the collective ownership of the inhabitants of the State (of Jammu & Kashmir), on both sides (of the divide). This bond is completely in accord with the vision of the honourable father of the nation Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.

iii) 
The cabinet has further expressed that on the basis of the action taken on the 5th of August 2019 by the Indian government; the accepted international status of the Kashmir issue, the will of the State's people and their fundamental rights have been violated. In order to achieve its vulgar aims, the Indian government has taken this step in order to change the demography (of the territory under their control), which is in total contradiction of the United Nations Security Council resolutions. In this context, for the purpose of translating the aspirations of the inhabitants of the State of Jammu & Kashmir - on either side (of the divide) - it is requested that steps be taken via mutual consultation to further empower the government of Azad Kashmir.

iv) 
The cabinet has also expressed the opinion that constitutional matters via mutual consultation can only be decided in accordance with public aspirations and the intent described in article 257 of the Pakistani constitution. For this, mutual consultation is needed at the highest level (of Inter-State relations.

v)
The cabinet through collective agreement has expressed their full and complete satisfaction in the leadership of Esquire Raja Muhammad Farooq Haider Khan, the prime minister of the free government of the State of Jammu & Kashmir.

(Signature of Raja Wasim)

Press Secretary of the prime minister 

.....End of translation of Urdu document above

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I was invited to participate in the following programme which references a novel way of tackling issues of public interest. From cleaning (refuse disposal) to telecommunications, roads and the political leadership crisis in AJK:



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