Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s led PML-N appears to be softening its position towards protesters in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), with a senior government adviser now describing the vast majority of demonstrators as “patriotic” and saying the party will soon engage with them.Sharif’s adviser Rana Sanaullah on Saturday said 99 per cent of those associated with the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), the group leading months of protests in the region, were “our patriotic brothers”.“When the PML(N) government will be formed with two-third majority, it will sit with [Joint Awami] Action Committee representatives. Their first task will be to resolve this issue,” Sanaullah said at a rally ahead of the third and final phase of elections in PoK.The remarks mark a notable shift from the government’s earlier rhetoric towards the protesters.Just days earlier, Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif had likened the protesters to India and described them as “enemies of Pakistan”, ruling out talks with them. Asif had said there would be “no dialogue with the protesters” and that he considered them in the same category as India.India, however, has rejected Pakistan’s stance on the unrest, saying the protests are a direct consequence of Pakistan’s economic exploitation, denial of fundamental rights and administrative oppression in PoK.Sanaullah had also previously accused the protesters of seeking to seize Muzaffarabad and Mirpur by force and described their actions as an “India-like attack”. The government had disputed claims of civilian deaths during clashes and accused protesters of opening fire at security personnel.The JAAC, however, has alleged that security forces opened fire on its activists during protests and long marches, with the group claiming that more than 40 people, including women and children, had been killed since elections began and around 400 protesters had been killed since early June.The Pakistan government has rejected the JAAC’s figures as “overly exaggerated”, though Sanaullah has acknowledged that the number of people killed in the protests was in the “two digits” and that security personnel had also died.The change in tone comes as the PML-N prepares to take charge of the so-called government in PoK following elections that have been accompanied by violence and allegations of rigging.In the first two phases of voting, the PML-N has won 25 of the 45 directly elected seats, crossing the majority mark in the so-called legislative assembly. The party is in a direct contest with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), its coalition partner in Pakistan’s federal government.The third and final phase of polling for four seats is scheduled for Monday, while elections in seven constituencies have been indefinitely postponed.The JAAC has been leading protests in PoK since June, drawing support from students, traders, transporters, lawyers and social workers. The regional government banned the group in June.The protests have faced a security crackdown, with Amnesty International and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan raising concerns over reports of violence and calling for investigations.The situation also drew concern from the United Nations, when it called for accountability for actions against people engaged in peaceful protest.The United States has also urged Pakistan to exercise restraint amid the unrest, calling on authorities to respect fundamental freedoms and create conditions for free and fair elections.
