PTI seeks judicial inquiry into Rawalakot violence, rejects AJK polls

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on Wednesday rejected the recent elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), calling the electoral process “a fraud”, and condemned the violence in the region, which it said was sending the wrong message internationally and harming the Kashmir cause.

 Reports of multiple deaths and injuries have emerged on social media since Monday in Rawalakot, Mirpur and other areas. Several videos circulating online showed scenes of unrest, with claims of violence and casualties, though the details could not be independently verified. Both security forces and the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) claimed the loss of lives on both sides.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and opposition parties had on Tuesday called for an impartial and independent investigation into the reports of deaths and injuries.

Addressing a press conference alongside PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan today, former AJK prime minister Sardar Qayyum Niazi said Kashmiris were being subjected to unprecedented oppression and brutality.

“Kashmiris are being crushed in a manner for which there is no precedent. These are the same Kashmiris who passed the resolution in favour of accession to Pakistan on July 19, 1947, even before Pakistan came into existence,” he said.

Read: AJK police say JAAC working under ‘specific agenda’, accuse protesters of using automatic weapons

He said the protesters had made every effort to reach an agreement, but when they realised that their demands were no longer being heard, they announced a protest for June 9.

“They are peaceful people and remain peaceful even today. Tell me, was any member of our forces killed by gunfire or struck with a baton there? These people are taking bullets, yet they continue to stand peacefully,” he said.

Questioning the decision to hold the elections in three phases, Niazi said AJK had a population of only 3.5-4 million.

آزادکشمیر کے حالات اتنے سنگین ہوچکے ہیں کہ اس پر گفتگو کرنا کسی کے بس میں نہیں ہے، دل اس وقت خون کے آنسو بہا رہا ہے ۔

کشمیر دوقومی نظریے پر وجود میں آیا یہ تحریک پاکستان بننے سے پہلے کشمیریوں نے شروع کی جو 13 جولائی 1931 میں جس کو ہم یوم شہدائے کشمیر کا نام دیتے ہیں۔

سری نگر… pic.twitter.com/dFTSiA8jyl
— PTI (@PTIofficial) July 29, 2026

“Pakistan has a population of 250 million and holds elections in a single phase. What is the need for three phases here? What kind of design is being implemented in Kashmir?” he asked.

Niazi alleged that protesters were being killed in Kashmir and that their bodies were being made to disappear. He urged the authorities not to treat Kashmiris in such a manner, saying AJK was the base camp of the Kashmir freedom movement and that the prevailing situation was sending the wrong message to the world.

“We used to send Kashmiri delegations across the world. We would sit at the United Nations and outside the UK Parliament to highlight the atrocities being committed against Kashmiris in occupied Kashmir. Today, we are no longer in a position to show our faces because of what is happening in Azad Kashmir,” he said.

Also Read: PPP criticises AJK Election Commission, says it is ‘equally responsible for rigging’ during polls

Lashing out at the government over the violence in the region, Niazi urged the authorities to change their approach, saying AJK could not tolerate the use of force to suppress those raising their voices.

“Force should never have been used there,” he said.

“The eyes of the entire world are fixed on Kashmir. Our eternal enemy, India, is advancing its Akhand Bharat narrative before the world. Do we want to hand Kashmir to it on a platter? We must change this approach,” the former prime minister said.

He said the PTI had boycotted the elections because it knew they would be “controversial and pre-arranged”, claiming it had already been decided that the government would be handed to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and that the existing system would continue in the same manner.

Describing the polls as “fake”, Niazi demanded the formation of a national government in the region until the situation returned to normal, after which free and transparent elections should be held in which the PTI would also participate.

He claimed that the people of AJK had categorically rejected the recent elections and urged the authorities to handle the matter with utmost care and resolve it through dialogue.

“Kashmiris are Pakistanis and their hearts beat with Pakistan. Some people are creating misunderstandings. There are no terrorists there. These are the same people who, until yesterday, were sitting across the table presenting their demands. When the situation deteriorated, they suddenly became terrorists,” he said, appealing to the authorities not to further aggravate the situation and instead work to restore normalcy.

Meanwhile, Gohar criticised the recent electoral process and alleged that the July 27 elections were “a fraud” on the people of the region.

“The elections held on the 27th were witnessed by all of you. In the name of elections, it was a fraud. Everyone will now have to accept that using bullets and batons, suppressing the people, silencing them and stopping them from protesting is not the solution to problems. Listening to the people is democracy,” he said.

Condemning the recent situation in AJK, Gohar also criticised the Pakistan Peoples Party and the PML-N for politicising the issue.

“آزاد کشمیر میں وہ الیکشن نہیں ہوئے جو جمہوریت میں ہوتے ہیں وہاں صرف ٹھپے لگے، اسلام آباد جتنی آبادی کے علاقے میں تین فیز میں انتخابات ہونا، ایسے انتخابات تو کبھی لوکل باڈی کے نہیں ہوئے ۔ کشمیر ایک حساس علاقہ ہے ریاست ہوش کے ناخن لے۔ ہر کشمیری پاکستانی ہے ہر پاکستانی کشمیری ہے۔… pic.twitter.com/ud3ewn5kHt
— PTI (@PTIofficial) July 29, 2026

“We openly state that there were dead bodies lying there, people were covered in blood, and political parties played politics over it. One congratulated the other, while the other complained that the elections had been rigged against it,” he said, adding that the two parties had remained in power under the existing system for the past 40 years and had lost in their respective provinces.

He said the low voter turnout in the election itself reflected the people’s rejection of both parties.

“Such a low turnout reflects a vote of no confidence in the entire system and in these two parties. It is a referendum against them,” Gohar said.

Describing the prevailing politics as being driven by personal interests, he said it was damaging the Kashmir cause and urged all stakeholders to act with wisdom.

“Kashmir is highly sensitive. Every Kashmiri is Pakistani and every Pakistani is Kashmiri. Kashmir will neither become Kashmore nor Lahore. Kashmir is Pakistan’s jugular vein and will remain its jugular vein, and we will not allow any harm to come to its cause,” he said.

الیکشن اور ووٹ دینا جمہوریت کی بنیاد ہے، کشمیر میں اس کی بہت بڑی اہمیت ہے، کشمیر پاکستان کی شہہ رگ ہے اس کے حالات پر پوائنٹ سکورنگ اور سیاست کسی صورت نہیں ہونی چاہئے۔

بجائے اس کے کہ فری اینڈ فیئر الیکشن کروایا جاتا، کشمیر کے عوام کے مطالبات سنے جاتے ان کا حل نکالا جاتا ذاتی مفاد… pic.twitter.com/ghOu3vNHaE
— PTI (@PTIofficial) July 29, 2026

Gohar said his party condemned the bloodshed and firing on people during the recent elections, rejected the July 27 polls and demanded a judicial inquiry into the incidents.

He also demanded the immediate cancellation of the remaining two phases of the elections, scheduled for Aug 2 and Aug 10, called for the resignation of the AJK government and sought the formation of a national government.

“We demand that the national government proceed with wisdom, adopt dialogue, listen to the people’s issues and take the necessary action,” he said, demanding free, fair and transparent elections across AJK in a single phase under the supervision of an independent and impartial election commission.Read More