MUZAFFARABAD: At least one activist was killed and eight others wounded in a clash during a political rally in the Kotli area of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Saturday.
The clash between Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) workers occurred in the Nakial bazaar area as a PPP procession headed towards the venue of their convention scheduled to be held later in the day.
Activists from the ruling and the opposition parties resorted to stone pelting at each other, which resulted in the death of Munshi Khan, reportedly a PPP worker.
The contingent of police present at the site fired tear gas to disperse party workers and maintain peace in the area. The injured were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) Kotli.
General elections in AJK are slated to be held in summer this year.
Former president Asif Ali Zardari condemned the killing of PPP worker in the strongest possible words and said, “It has become a norm for PML-N to kill opposition people which shows the dictatorial mindset of its leadership”.
Zardari said that several PML-N ministers had been delivering hate speeches against PPP for some time now during their Kashmir visits. Storming of PPP convention seems to be the result of those hate speeches, he said.
The PPP co-chairman asked for a detailed report from the AJK government and instructed it to arrest and bring the culprits to book as soon as possible.
The former president expressed his sympathy for the families of martyr PPP workers and asked PPP AJK leaders to visit the residences of martyrs and show solidarity with them. He also instructed them to provide best medical care to the injured.
He prayed for eternal peace for the departed souls and strength and fortitude to the bereaved families to bear this irreparable loss with equanimity. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto also condemned the attack on PPP workers. He said that PML-N has adopted dictatorial tactics and let loose its armed goons to mount murderous attacks on political gatherings of the PPP ahead of the general elections. He warned Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to restrain his ministers from promoting violence and use of lethal weapons against opponents otherwise he would be held responsible for the consequences. On Thursday, the AJK government had announced that the appointment of Justice Ghulam Mustafa Mughal as new chief election commissioner of AJK. The ruling PPP gave in to the wishes of the local apex court on Thursday, following a contempt notice issued by the top court of the region.
