Semblance of normalcy returns to AJK as strike dwindles

• Officials term JAAC’s call for election boycott ‘an attempt to remain in the spotlight’
• AJK govt set to unveil Rs286bn budget today

MUZAFFARABAD: As leaders of the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) urge their supporters to boycott next month’s polls in Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK), the administration sees the effort as an attempt to keep themselves in the spotlight.

In a video circulating on social media, a JAAC leader – identified by an official as Umar Nazir Kashmiri – can be heard asking the crowd: “After the way this game has been played with us, will you still take part in this sham and fraudulent election?” The crowd responds with a resounding ‘no’.

Official sources said JAAC leaders are now employing emotionally charged rhetoric to keep their supporters mobilised amid the ongoing standoff with the government.

Confirming the development, Poonch divisional commissioner Sardar Waheed Khan identified the speaker as Umar Nazir. Explaining their logic, he said they think that if people turn towards electioneering, the JAAC and its cause will lose relevance.

Signs of life

Meanwhile, routine life began to return in Muzaffarabad, with transport being partially restored, despite announcements by some traders’ representatives that businesses would resume over the weekend.

The city and other parts of AJK, had remained in the grip of a strike for several weeks. However, normalcy is slowly returning to the region as the strike call peters out.

Most markets in the city remained shut on Sunday, but a government official pointed out that this was due to the weekly holiday for traders, and expressed hope that commercial activity would return to normal on Monday.

Public transport also showed signs of revival, with most buses and other passenger vehicles, which had remained off the roads for nearly three weeks, returning to their terminals near the new bus stand.

Fuel supplies, however, continued to affect the resumption of transport services. Except for a handful, most gas stations remained closed on Sunday, though officials said the issue was expected to be resolved on Monday.

Transporters said operations could not fully resume because of the fuel shortage, adding that services on all routes would be restored once the government allowed petrol pumps to resume regular supplies.

Budget today

Meanwhile, the AJK government is expected to present its annual budget for the financial year 2026-27 in the Legislative Assembly today, a day before the close of the current fiscal year.

Minister for Finance and Inland Revenue Chaudhry Qasim Majeed will table the budget — with a proposed outlay of Rs286 billion — before the house. According to official sources, the proposed budget includes Rs250bn for recurring expenditure and Rs36bn for development.

The finance minister will also present the revised estimates for the outgoing fiscal year, reducing the overall size of the current budget to Rs262.165bn, comprising Rs230bn for recurring expenditure and Rs32.165bn for development. The coalition government approved a Rs310.2bn budget for 2025-26 in June last year, of which Rs49bn was earmarked for development projects.

The session would likely be thinly attended as many lawmakers are busy campaigning for the forthcoming general elections.

The budget is expected to be passed the same day without debate, in keeping with the convention followed in the final year of previous legislative assemblies, when outgoing governments secured approval of their last budgets before the house was dissolved for general elections.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2026 ...