A dispute over the abolition of 12 reserved seats for Kashmiri refugees in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) legislative assembly has ignited a constitutional debate. The Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) seeks to eliminate these seats, arguing they are used for political manipulation, but their abolition would challenge the AJK Interim Constitution of 1974, specifically Article 22 which constitutionally protects them. The AJK Supreme Court affirmed the seats’ constitutional protection against executive action but suggested amendment via Article 33 is permissible, a point of contention among legal observers. These seats were originally established to represent Kashmiris displaced after 1947, granting them equal status as “state subjects” alongside local residents. The current arrangement allocates six seats to refugees from Jammu and six from the Kashmir Valley. Any alteration to the seats requires a constitutional amendment, and the debate raises concerns about fundamental rights and the representation of displaced populations within AJK’s political system.