Azad Kashmir elections

 Azad Kashmir elections

Kashmir is not just the name of a few mountains and valleys. Rather, it is the name of an ancient civilization that is determined to make progress at every step in an emerging society. Before the formation of Pakistan and India, this combination of valleys was considered the safest corner. In which people used to take refuge to escape the sectarian riots that took place at the time of partition.

After the treason, the black eyes of the invaders on this valley shed blood on its value. And the peaceful tribes of the valley will be divided. Those two parts are today on the international map in a controversial manner under the administration of India and Pakistan, which have fallen behind the third tier countries in the modern world under strict international laws.

India conspired to change the demographics of Kashmir by changing its laws, but the United Nations remained a silent spectator.

General elections are being held in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on July 25. In which the people of Azad Kashmir will be given the right to elect representatives for their welfare. In the last seven decades, different names have emerged as the political leadership of Azad Kashmir. He was loyal to his elder brother but limited the Kashmir region to communities and castes.

Can any conscious citizen imagine that even in these bright days of the technological age, the people of Azad Kashmir use their faith on the basis of Sardars, Rajputs, Chaudhrys and Jats? The fact is that not only the Kashmiri leadership but also the elder brother Pakistan has made a splash in the shop by turning the region into a vicious circle. Whether the PML-N is formed in Azad Kashmir in 2010 or the PTI is organized in Azad Kashmir, all the maneuvers are made in the name of the elders of the communities.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is a champion of merit, called a gala before the election campaign and gave red and green flags to some electables and formed his own team by getting them divorced from other political parties. Later, they would proudly announce that the PTI was going to form a government in Azad Kashmir. On the other hand, these same political figures change their political affiliation and statements every five years.

And above all, the nation with a literacy rate of 76% also supports them, reaching out to the assemblies.

India cunningly changed the independent status of Kashmir. Articles 370 and 35A were repealed. Kashmir has always been a disputed territory but even today in 2021, no political party in Azad Kashmir has a clear strategy for the independence and referendum of Jammu and Kashmir.

And no political activist seems to demand that. People's cries range from mere political appointments to paving the streets. Power up to the transformers and poles is in the grip of the political leadership. However, the above powers should be vested in the local government at the sub-level. In any case, where is the local government system in Pakistan which will be in Azad Kashmir.

Despite the promises of various governments, the state still lacks subsidiaries.

Due to the change of party of the same political leadership in every political era, the state is still in a bad condition and the leadership has become completely incompetent. Recently, a member of the constituency fell into the river and died in his own area along with his vehicle. All sympathies with his family, but was it not his responsibility to erect a fence around the road from the constituency from which he had been elected most of the time? The state is in a state of disrepair in terms of infrastructure.

It is a very difficult journey to reach the peaks which are worth billions of rupees. But the big political eyes of Azad Kashmir and Pakistan are turning a blind eye to the AC. There is corruption in every project. From Grade 21 to Grade 5 and 6, everyone, including the political leadership, is involved in bribery and corruption. But NAB will not come to Azad Kashmir because proud Kashmiris will break its legs.

Nor will the legal institutions of Azad Kashmir bring any changes in the Accountability Bureau.

Why is it that all political parties within Pakistan, which speak of democracy and respect for the vote, seem to be involved in elections in Kashmir at the governmental level? From moral to financial funding and the race for power, the political landscape of Azad Kashmir is forced to commit suicide.

Every party that is in power in Pakistan is taking away the dignity of the vote from the government machinery in a tsunami of political corruption. Recently, Kashmir Affairs Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said in one place that he would give a package of billions of rupees for each vote.

Isn't this political influence? People should be seduced by the use of government machinery and free elections should be banned? Then in Daska, those who picked up the Yaziding officer on Dinke's injury are also seen involved.

Just as elections in Pakistan are not transparent, so are elections in Azad Kashmir. And the bottom line is that the central character is the same in both places.

State and non-state media in Azad Kashmir is very weak. The media, the main source of information for the masses, seems helpless in Azad Kashmir. From social crimes to the anomalies of the ruling class, the media lacks coverage.

In fact, it would not be wrong to say that there is no media structure in the state. Newspaper owners scatter fragments of investigative journalism for their own personal gain.

The 21st century is considered the Asian century. In this century, Asia seems to be leading the world on the front line. Today, even after two decades of this century, if Pakistan, including Azad Kashmir, does not set the right direction for its electoral system, it will not only lag behind in this global race but will also be crushed.

From establishing a tradition of giving dignity to the opinion of the people to allowing them to freely exercise their right to vote outside the community will be one of the steps towards democracy. Otherwise, these Kashmiri people will find community and family as the basis for their independence or accession in the referendum.