In late September and early October 2025, Azad Jammu and Kashmir witnessed its most powerful people’s movement in recent memory. From Muzaffarabad to Mirpur, Kotli and Rawalakot, ordinary citizens, students, traders and civil servants filled the streets demanding justice, fair electricity prices, wheat subsidies and honest governance.
Their chants rose from the mountains and echoed through every valley, calling for accountability and dignity. Tragically, those peaceful calls met violence. Lives were lost, families shattered, and the hearts of Kashmiris across the world were left broken. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un — to Allah we belong and to Him we return.
International media, including Al Jazeera and Arab News, reported on the demonstrations and the heavy-handed clashes that left a lasting mark on Azad Kashmir’s conscience. Out of that turmoil came a negotiated settlement between the Government of Pakistan, the Government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC).
On 3 October 2025 in Muzaffarabad, the parties signed what is now widely known as the “38 Point Agenda.” This agreement outlines reforms, relief and accountability measures designed to address long-standing public grievances.
Below is a faithful presentation of those thirty-eight commitments, set out in their original Roman-numeral order.
The 38 Point Agenda — Muzaffarabad, 3 October 2025
i. Criminal cases to be registered under appropriate anti-terrorism provisions for incidents of violence and vandalism that caused loss of life or property.
ii. Families of those killed in the protests to receive compensation equal to that of law-enforcement martyrs; injured persons to receive Rs 1 million; one family member of each deceased to be given government employment within 20 days.
iii. Judicial Commissions to be constituted where inquiries are necessary to determine responsibility for the deaths.
iv. Two new Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education to be established for Muzaffarabad and Poonch Divisions.
v. All three AJK education boards to be affiliated with the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education within 30 days.
vi. Land possessions for families affected by the Mangla Dam Raising Project to be regularised within 30 days.
vii. Local Government Act to be brought in line with the 1990 Act within 90 days, as directed by the Apex Court.
viii. Funds for implementation of the health card programme to be released within 15 days.
ix. MRI and CT scan machines to be provided to each district hospital phase-wise with federal funding.
x. The Government of Pakistan to allocate Rs 10 billion for upgrading AJK’s electricity system.
xi. Implementation of the 2019 High Court decision regarding hydel power projects and royalty distribution.
xii. The size of the AJK cabinet to be reduced to 20 members (ministers and advisers combined).
xiii. Administrative secretaries to be limited to 20.
xiv. Civil Defence Department to be merged with the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA).
xv. Ehtesab Bureau and Anti-Corruption Establishment to be merged into one accountability institution.
xvi. Ehtesab Act to be aligned with Pakistan’s National Accountability laws for uniformity.
xvii. Feasibility studies for two tunnels — Kahori/Kamser (3.7 km) and Chaplian (0.6 km) on Neelum Valley Road — to be initiated under the Saudi Development Fund.
xviii. Bridges at Gulpur and Rehman (Kotli) to be built through the Annual Development Programme (ADP).
xix. Water-supply scheme and transmission line for Kashmir Colony Dadyal to be included in the ADP.
xx. Feasibility for greater water-supply schemes across all ten districts to be completed this financial year.
xxi. Operation theatres and nurseries to be funded for all Tehsil Headquarters Hospitals via the ADP.
xxii. Taxes on property transfer to be brought at par with Punjab or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa within three months.
xxiii. Advance tax rates to be reduced in line with Gilgit-Baltistan and former FATA areas.
xxiv. Admissions to educational institutions to follow open merit without undue quota restrictions.
xxv. FIRs for incidents at Banjosa, Muzaffarabad, Plochk, Dhirkot, Mirpur and Rian Kotli to be investigated through Judicial Commission led by a High Court judge.
xxvi. Time-frame for the construction of an International Airport at Mirpur to be announced within the current financial year.
xxvii. Transport policy to be reviewed in light of the High Court judgment, especially the 1300 cc vehicle limit.
xxviii. Feasibility for hydel and water schemes to be carried out as priority projects.
xxix. Proprietary rights to be granted to refugees residing in Mendor Colony Dadyal.
xxx. Protesters detained in Rawalpindi and Islamabad on 2–3 October to be released immediately.
xxxi. High-powered committee of constitutional experts (two from each party) to review representation of outside constituencies in AJK Assembly; fund allocations for those seats to remain on hold until report submission.
xxxii. Same committee to oversee harmonisation of accountability structures with federal standards.
xxxiii. Funds for operation theatres and maternal care facilities to be prioritised in the ADP.
xxxiv. Reaffirmation that cabinet size shall not exceed 20; rationalisation of administration to continue.
xxxv. Monitoring and Implementation Committee to be formed comprising Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs (Chair), Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, two AJK Government and two JAAC representatives.
xxxvi. Committee to prepare rules, set timelines, and review perks of judiciary, officials and ministers to reduce expenditure.
xxxvii. New development schemes and health expansion projects to be financed under ADP and federal allocations.
xxxviii. All points of agreement to be monitored regularly by the Monitoring and Implementation Committee and reported to both the Federal and AJK Governments.
Please note these charter of demands are published as they are written, we have not changed, ammended or edited this from its original context or wording.
Our Reflections
The 38 Point Agenda represents not only administrative reform but the blood, pain and courage of the Kashmiri people. Each line was written in the shadow of grief. The mothers who buried their sons and the children who now cry for their fathers will forever remind us that no reform comes without sacrifice.
At the Kashmir Welfare Foundation, we mourn every life lost in this movement. We recognise the humanity of the police officers, protestors and bystanders who became victims of a conflict born of frustration and decades of neglect. Their sacrifice must never be forgotten.
This agreement is a beginning, not an end. Implementation will decide whether it becomes a genuine charter for justice or merely another list on paper. True progress will come when promises reach every home — when the child in Neelum Valley studies under a working lightbulb, when the widow in Kotli can afford medicine, and when the youth of Mirpur find honest employment without bribery or despair.
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un. May Allah accept the martyrs of Kashmir, grant patience to their families and guide our leaders toward justice.
Quote from Abdul Basit, Chairman of Kashmir Welfare Foundation
“Our people stood unarmed but unbroken. They demanded light, bread and fairness, nothing more. Every drop of blood spilled in October 2025 is a reminder that the soul of Kashmir cannot be silenced. We pray that this agreement translates into real relief for the poor and real accountability for those in power. May Allah make us worthy of the sacrifice that has been made.”
Looking Ahead
In the coming weeks, the Kashmir Welfare Foundation will publish a series analysing each section of the 38 Point Agenda in detail — education, governance, economy, health and infrastructure — so that citizens can understand what has been promised and how it affects their lives.
This movement proved that change in Kashmir is not driven by power alone but by people with faith and courage. May this agenda honour their memory and usher in a new era of accountability and hope.
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If you wish to honour those who gave their lives for justice by helping the living, families struggling with poverty, orphans needing education, and widows seeking dignity, please consider supporting our ongoing humanitarian work:
Together, let us turn grief into goodness and ensure that the sacrifice of 2025 builds a more just future for Kashmir.
