In Reply to Nawaz, Bilawal Says AJK Residents Won't Bargain Away Rights

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari directly countered remarks made by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, asserting that the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Sindh are united in their resolve to protect their rights. The exchange comes just before the initial phase of AJK elections, with Mirpur set to hold its vote.

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Whether it’s Kashmir or Kashmore, Mirpur or Mirpurkhas, not only do their names resemble each other; their temperament matches too, their honour matches too, and so does the courage to stand up for their rights.

Nawaz Sharif had previously drawn a parallel between Kashmir and Sindh's Kashmore district, and Mirpur in AJK and Mirpurkhas in Sindh, implying a political connection or comparison. Responding via a social media video, Bhutto-Zardari stated, "Whether it’s Kashmir or Kashmore, Mirpur or Mirpurkhas, not only do their names resemble each other; their temperament matches too, their honour matches too, and so does the courage to stand up for their rights."

Bhutto-Zardari further emphasized that the residents of these areas "are not ready to bargain away their rights. They want to make their own decisions." He predicted that, similar to past elections where the PML-N faced defeat in Sindh, the people of AJK would reject the party again, stating, "the people will repeat that same verdict in the upcoming elections too."

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Whether it’s Kashmir or Kashmore, Mirpur or Mirpurkhas, their people are not ready to bargain away their rights. They want to make their own decisions.

The PPP chairman also addressed the PML-N's pre-election "gift" of electric buses to Muzaffarabad. He welcomed development projects but stressed that "something built with the public’s money is not a gift from any politician, it is the public’s right." Bhutto-Zardari highlighted the PPP's contributions to AJK's budget, including additional teachers, a cardiac hospital, and IT centers, contrasting them with what he termed electoral promises.

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You are being promised buses, hospitals, roads, and an airport. I welcome every bus, every hospital, every road, and every airport. But something built with the public’s money is not a gift from any politician, it is the public’s right.