12 seats: The death of democracy

Since the beginning, Kashmir has been fighting courageously for its identity and freedom. We had a hard time defending our identity and ideology and now we don’t deserve to be called terrorists or anti-nationals by our own country. On 25 September 2025, people came out of their homes with a 38-point charter of demands, indirectly questioning the credibility of our flawed government and raising their voices for their basic rights including free healthcare, free education, relief in electricity and wheat prices etc. At this time, people didn’t talk about Indian-occupied Kashmir rather; they raised their voices for Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

In June 2026, we again raised concerns about our demands and JAAC announced a protest on 9 June. Once again we questioned our system, officials and the injustices we have been facing. This effort led to many unfortunate events, including the killing of Habib Shahzaib (member of JAAC), an internet shutdown all over AJK, over 30 deaths, 459+ arrests across the entire region, a ban on JAAC under anti- terrorism act, arrest of Shaukat Nawaz Mir, the blockage of the transport of food and medicine and 40 days of protest with about 14000 personnel deployed in Kashmir. An important demand that has struck a nerve was the removal of 12 refugee seats in the legislative assembly of AJK and that’s where the governments of Pakistan and AJK refuse to risk their power and privileges.

In 1970, these 12 seats were allocated to refugees from Indian Occupied Kashmir who had migrated to Pakistan after the ceasefire in Kashmir in 1947. These seats were created to protect the rights and identity of the people of Indian-Occupied Kashmir but today those same 12 seats are misused to manipulate the politics in AJK. With over 33 seats allocated to Kashmir residents, 4 lakh votes are cast amounting to roughly 60,000–80,000 votes for a single seat while only 38,000 votes are cast over 12 refugee seats with roughly 1K or 2K votes for a single seat. After the elections, about roughly 8 out of 12 seats end up holding important cabinet ministries such as our present Finance Minister is from Peshawar, Sports Minister from Multan, Transport Minister from Rawalpindi and Industries and Commerce Minister from Attock.

These statistics clearly show the issue with these 12 refugee seats: how uneven and unfair the electoral process is in AJK. The fourth or fifth-generation descendants of Kashmir refugees are Kashmiri but they are not refugees, they have been born and raised within Pakistan’s system so they understand and support the principle and ideology of the Government of Pakistan more than that of the Government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Furthermore, to implement the sugar coated promises, the presence of the government officials are essential in the state so that they can better understand the present situation regarding the on going issues of the people and the state.

From the 2025 Nepali Gen Z protest to the 2024 Bangladeshi quota reform movement, it has been proven that whenever a nation raises its voice against false political narratives, the government has gone beyond the bounds of humanity to protect their privileges and power. Whether it’s Nepal, Bangladesh or Kashmir, common people have always paid the price with their blood in the hope of change. Kashmir has been struggling since 1947 for its freedom and now they don’t deserve to live through another war for the sake of democracy. The Eidgah ground in Rawalakot echoed with call for their basic rights, it wasn’t meant to echo with the sounds of bullets. Kashmir doesn’t deserve abductions and killings in the name of anti-nationalism when they were just standing up for their state. Kashmir has been protesting for 40 consecutive days to prove that we don’t bow in front of power or oppression. The politicians and officials are servants of the nation, not its owners.

About Writer

Afia Abbasi is a resident of Kashmir and Pakistan and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) at the National College of Arts (NCA), Lahore. With a strong interest in art, society, and public discourse, she uses writing as a medium to engage with contemporary social issues.

Her work explores topics of public significance, including the ongoing developments in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Through her writing, she aims to encourage informed dialogue and highlight the importance of issues affecting local communities from a thoughtful and humanitarian perspective.