MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore on Saturday said the biggest challenge for the incoming government is dealing with the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) movement, stressing that dialogue is the only way to resolve the crisis.

Speaking to journalists at Kashmir House, Mr Rathore said the situation could become “alarming” and expressed hope for a resolution after the new government forms.

Referring to the JAAC demands, he said while the body had been seeking the right to ownership, Poonch had ultimately been deprived of the right to representation. “I had promised the Action Committee that four refugee seats would be abolished, but its leaders did not accept my advice,” he said. “Even eight seats could have been abolished, but they remained adamant.”

Mr Rathore alleged the PML-N rushed into elections to secure power, which only intensified the regional crisis. He claimed the PPP lacked a level playing field and that various tactics ensured the PML-N’s victory, turning initial PPP wins into defeats.

Responding to rigging allegations by PML-N rival Chaudhry Mohsin Aziz, Mr Rathore urged candidates to approach election tribunals with evidence.

“On what basis could Chaudhry Mohsin have defeated me?” he asked, attributing his electoral challenge to the small size of his clan rather than a lack of development work.

He called for overhauling the region’s “obsolete” governance system, urging a focus on economic development. “We should now move beyond the thinking that Azad Kashmir is the base camp of the freedom movement,” he said. “Only when there is construction and development can it truly become a base camp.”

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2026