Subject: Legal and Political Merits of Retaining the 12 Refugee Seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly
To: Members of the Legislative Assembly of Azad Jammu and Kashmir; Joint Awami Action Committee, Muzaffarabad
From: Legal Department, Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights (JKCHR)
Date: [27 May 2025]
Executive Summary
This memorandum defends the continued existence and constitutional relevance of the 12 seats reserved in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly for refugees from Jammu and Kashmir Valley, currently residing in various provinces of Pakistan. It also rebuts the flawed argument that such representation is anomalous or unjustified. These seats are legally, politically, and morally indispensable for ensuring inclusivity, preserving the international status of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, and maintaining parity with constitutional practices in both Indian-administered Kashmir and other global democracies.
1. Legal and Historical Basis for Refugee Representation
The 12 seats—6 for refugees from the Kashmir Valley and 6 for refugees from Jammu—reflect a humanitarian and political necessity stemming from the mass displacement of residents due to the India-Pakistan conflict over Jammu and Kashmir. These individuals were forced from their homeland and settled in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan. To deprive them of legislative representation would amount to disenfranchisement and a denial of political agency under the principles enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), particularly Article 25.
2. International and Comparative Practice
It is erroneously argued by some quarters that legislative representation for displaced or diaspora communities has no parallel elsewhere in the world. In fact, more than 20 countries provide for formal representation of their diaspora or displaced populations in their national legislatures. Examples include:
- France: 11 seats in the National Assembly for French citizens abroad.
- Italy: 12 seats in Parliament for Italians abroad.
- Portugal, Romania, Algeria, Tunisia, and Croatia: Formal mechanisms for diaspora voting and representation.
- Mozambique, Angola, and Cape Verde: Reserved seats for diaspora communities.
Such provisions recognize the importance of political participation and continuity of identity, even when citizens are located outside their homeland. The AJK refugee seats fall well within this established international practice.
3. Parity with Indian Administered Jammu and Kashmir
The Indian Constitution reserves 24 seats in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly for areas currently administered by Pakistan, namely Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. These seats remain vacant but reinforce the notion of an incomplete and contested territorial status.
In mirror response, the 12 refugee seats in AJK represent the population from Indian-administered areas who are forcibly displaced and now reside in Pakistan. Unlike the vacant Indian seats—which represent settled people living under a different administration—the 12 AJK seats represent a disenfranchised and uprooted community, rendering their need for political voice far more urgent.
4. Addressing Allegations of Corruption and Political Manipulation
Allegations of corruption and political opportunism apply to the broader Assembly and not exclusively to the refugee members. The entire 53-member Assembly has witnessed party switching and undue interference. Targeting only the 12 refugee seats is selective and unfair.
The remedy lies in institutional reform and electoral integrity, not disenfranchisement. Mechanisms such as independent electoral commissions, anti-defection laws, and enhanced community nomination procedures can and should be introduced to strengthen democratic accountability.
5. Constitutional and Strategic Significance
Retaining the refugee seats is central to:
- Preserving the legal identity and continuity of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
- Affirming the incompleteness of the accession question, pending resolution through a UN-supervised plebiscite in accordance with Security Council Resolutions 47 (1948) and 91 (1951).
- Maintaining political and constitutional parity with Indian-administered Kashmir’s unfilled seats.
- Ensuring that refugees—who were forced out of their ancestral homes—remain part of the political discourse of their homeland.
6. Recommendations
- Reject calls for the abolition of the 12 refugee seats as legally and morally indefensible.
- Institute electoral reforms to improve transparency, nomination procedures, and anti-corruption safeguards.
- Enhance civic education among refugee communities to increase accountability and voter awareness.
- Document and publicize the international comparatives of diaspora representation to rebut false narratives of anomaly.
Conclusion
The 12 refugee seats are not a vestige of past arrangements but a forward-looking commitment to political justice, humanitarian inclusion, and constitutional parity. Their abolition would weaken the moral and legal position of AJK and Pakistan on the Kashmir dispute and disenfranchise a vulnerable population whose right to representation is both internationally supported and constitutionally enshrined.
Prepared by:
Dr. Syed Nazir Gilani
President, Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights (JKCHR)
(In Special Consultative Status with the United Nations)
For Submission to:
- Members of the Legislative Assembly of Azad Jammu and Kashmir
- Joint Awami Action Committee, Muzaffarabad
For Clarifications and Enquiries:
Please contact JKCHR at admin@jkchr.org