Country's overall situation, AJK comes under discussion as Dar meets Bilawal

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Tuesday met with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar at the Aiwan-i-Sadr.

According to the PPP, the two discussed the “overall situation in the country, including matters relating to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK)”.

Tuesday’s meeting comes ahead of the upcoming elections in the region, scheduled for July 27.

Last month, PPP’s Bilawal and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman announced that their parties would jointly contest the AJK general elections.

Meanwhile, ahead of the elections, the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) has called for widespread protests demanding the abolition of 12 reserved seats.

Bilawal had also met with Dar last week to discuss the “situation in AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan”, according to Radio Pakistan.

“Both leaders also agreed on the importance of holding free, fair, and transparent forthcoming general elections in AJK,” the report said.

It is worth mentioning that last month, the PPP formed a government in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) with the support of the PML-N, mirroring the arrangement at the federal level. ...