CM and AJK PM vow to fight for Kashmir

Shehbaz Sharif also pledges to help refugees in Punjab

LAHORE: India must realise that Kashmiri people cannot be deprived of their right to independence through continued brutalities. This was stated by Punjab Chief Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif during a meeting with AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan.

A high-level parliamentarian delegation of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, comprising ministers and members of the legislative, assembly called on Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Friday. The delegation was led by the AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan. Both leaders strongly condemned Indian brutalities against unarmed people in occupied Kashmir and violations of the line of control.

On the occasion, the CM said that India cannot deprive Kashmiris of their right to self-determination through cruelties. He said global attention was needed on the worst form of atrocities committed by the Indian army against unarmed Kashmiris. He said the PML-N government was providing sufficient funds for different programmes which aimed to provide basic necessities of life to the people of Azad Kashmir. He added steps had been taken for the development and prosperity of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. “There is no example of such steps taken for the welfare of the AJK people,” he continued.

The CM stated funds had been provided by the Punjab government from its budget for the development and prosperity of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. “Meanwhile, the students of AJK are also fully benefiting from the educational schemes of the Punjab government.”

He vowed that Punjab will continue to lend a helping hand to improve the lives of people in AJK. “The development of Azad Jammu and Kashmir is, in fact, the progress of Pakistan. “We all have to cover this journey of development collectively,” he added. The CM also assured of resolving the problems of refugees settled in the Punjab.



The AJK delegation comprised of ministers including Syed Shaukat, Chaudhry Aziz, Public Accounts Committee Chairman Chaudhry Muhammad Ishaq as well as members of the legislative assembly including Mian Yasir Rashid, Javed Akhter, Raja Muhammad Siddique and others. Provincial Minister Malik Nadeem Kamran, Chairman P&D, SMBR and others were also present on the occasion.

Last month, Former chief minister of Indian-Occupied Kashmir (IOK) Farooq Abdullah said Azad Kashmir “rightfully belongs to Pakistan”.

“I am telling the world clearly. The part which is with Pakistan belongs to Pakistan and this is India’s part. If they want peace, the government will have to talk to Pakistan and will have to give autonomy to us as well as to them,” Abdullah told reporters on Saturday.

“A Pakistan minister very rightly said that you forget that the part which is yours was acquired by an instrument of accession. You forget the instrument of accession and say that that part is yours. If you talk about this being your part, then remember the instrument as well,” said Abdullah, who also heads the National Conference party.

He was speaking about the government-appointed interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma’s conversations with stakeholders in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region.

“He [Sharma] has held talks but talks alone are not the solution. This issue is between India and Pakistan. The Indian government must also hold talks with the Pakistani government because a part of Kashmir is also with them,” Abdullah said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 23^rd, 2017.