What happened
Marathon talks between a federal ministerial team and the core leadership of the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) ended without a breakthrough late on 30 May 2026, prompting the committee to announce that its 9 June strike would proceed as planned.
The dialogue in Muzaffarabad, convened to persuade the JAAC to withdraw its strike call and resolve differences over its charter of demands, stretched for more than nine hours with intermittent breaks. The outcome heightened concerns over political stability in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), where general elections are expected in the last week of July.
JAAC core member Shaukat Nawaz Mir told reporters after the talks ended at 11:20pm that the two sides had held detailed discussions and exchanged proposals, and that government representatives had asked them to postpone the strike. “But we have decided to keep our strike call intact,” he said.
Why it matters
Participants said 37 of the 38 points in the JAAC’s charter of demands were discussed. The sole unresolved issue — and the most contentious — remained the abolition of 12 legislative assembly seats reserved for Pakistan-based refugees from India-held Kashmir. The PML-N’s AJK chapter opposes their abolition, partly because it expects to perform strongly in the 10 refugee constituencies located in Punjab, while the PPP, which enjoys the support of five refugee lawmakers, is considered less invested in retaining the arrangement.
The first session ran from shortly before 2pm until 4pm; the second resumed at 6:10pm and lasted until 11:20pm. Speaking to reporters afterwards, Rana Sanaullah insisted the dialogue process remained alive. “The negotiations have absolutely not failed; this process will continue,” he said, adding that the AJK government and the opposition PML-N had agreed to convene an all-parties conference, with another round of talks expected on 6 or 7 June.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a summary of published reporting, not independent reporting. Figures and quotations are as carried by the cited outlet. Sources reviewed on 2026-05-31.
- Dawn — "Centre-JAAC talks end without success; June 9 strike to go ahead"31 May 2026 · Reports the duration of the talks, the unresolved refugee-seat demand and the statements by Shaukat Nawaz Mir and Rana Sanaullah.
