The PPP on Wednesday took exception to a “sweeping statement” by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif regarding the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). In an interview on a TV show, the minister had said that Rawalakot — which has been in the grip of protests by the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) — is “not Kashmir” and that he did not consider people from there Kashmiris. Asif had subsequently taken to X to clarify that “Kashmiriat is defined by the sacrifices and struggles waged over almost eight decades by Pakistanis, including Kashmiris and all others, not by birth certificates”.