{"id":32861,"date":"2026-07-21T13:05:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T13:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diplomacypakistan.com\/?p=32861"},"modified":"2026-07-21T13:05:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T13:05:53","slug":"bilawal-bhutto-seeks-truth-commission-to-settle-kashmiris-grievances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diplomacypakistan.com\/?p=32861","title":{"rendered":"Bilawal Bhutto seeks Truth Commission to settle Kashmiris\u2019 grievances"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has called for Kashmiris to be given a greater role in deciding matters related to their political future, proposing the formation of a Truth Commission to address longstanding grievances in Azad Kashmir. In his interview with the\u00a0private TV channel\u00a0the PPP chairman said that the issue was serious and required a peaceful resolution. He said a Truth Commission could investigate all concerns, bring facts to light and recommend decisions based on merit. Bilawal said the commission should examine all issues facing Kashmir and provide a platform for resolving disputes through dialogue. He added that if the proposal was accepted, protesters should suspend their demonstrations until the commission is established. \u201cI will try to convince the state to delay further actions until the Truth Commission presents its findings,\u201d he said, adding that the mechanism could help resolve issues and prevent further suffering among Kashmiris. The PPP chairman said the Kashmir issue was not limited to reserved seats but was linked to the broader question of rights and representation. He stressed that decisions regarding reserved seats, electoral arrangements or constitutional changes should be made by the people of Kashmir themselves. Bilawal also proposed holding a constitutional convention for Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan to discuss ways to provide greater rights and governance powers while keeping the international position on Kashmir intact. Criticising recent remarks by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif regarding Kashmir\u2019s reserved seats, Bilawal said such statements created a negative impression that Kashmiris were not making their own choices. He demanded that the minister withdraw the remarks and apologise to the people of Kashmir. On upcoming elections in Azad Kashmir, Bilawal said the PPP wanted the process to be transparent and free from controversy. He suggested conducting elections in phases to strengthen public trust in the electoral system. He also objected to the ongoing internet restrictions in Kashmir, saying communication blackouts were affecting political activities and public engagement. Bilawal said his party would request the Election Commission to remove restrictions except in areas facing genuine security threats. Bilawal reiterated that the PPP supports political dialogue and peaceful solutions, saying all stakeholders must work together to address the challenges facing Kashmir and its people. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has called for Kashmiris to be given a greater role in deciding matters related to their political future, proposing the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32862,"comment_status":"registered_only","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news-updates"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diplomacypakistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diplomacypakistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diplomacypakistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diplomacypakistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diplomacypakistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diplomacypakistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diplomacypakistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diplomacypakistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diplomacypakistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diplomacypakistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}