We Won’t Let Azad Kashmir Become Jammu and Kashmir Says Bilawal Bhutto

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the people of Mirpur had given the party a clear mandate through their votes, questioning whether the situation unfolding in Azad Kashmir could truly be described as democracy. Addressing a public gathering, he alleged that injustice and electoral manipulation were being carried out under the guise of democracy and maintained that the PPP had secured a majority based on the public vote. He congratulated Chaudhry Yasin and all PPP candidates on their victories, asserting that Chaudhry Yasin had won both constituencies according to the people’s mandate.

Bilawal vowed that the PPP would reclaim all of its seats and would not allow anyone to “steal the people’s vote.” He said the party would neither retreat nor bow before any pressure, accusing opponents of repeating the same practices witnessed in previous elections. He stressed that regardless of the official vote count, the public had already declared the PPP’s election symbol, the arrow, victorious, adding that it was the party’s responsibility to protect the mandate given by the people of Mirpur.

The PPP chairman said his party stood with the Government of Pakistan on matters of national interest but would not support anyone for the political interests of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). He criticized the PML-N’s governance record and declared, “We will never let Azad Kashmir become Jammu and Kashmir.” Referring to recent protests, Bilawal said mistakes had been made by the protesters as well, arguing that an independent commission could have established the truth. He added that a middle path should have been adopted to resolve the dispute, emphasizing that no one wanted to see their fellow citizens martyred.