AJK president stresses need for dialogue between AJK, G-B leadership

We want accession of whole of Kashmir to Pakistan, says Masood Khan

RAWALAKOT:

Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar Masood Khan has said that Pakistan will never take any decision which is detrimental to the UN resolutions on Kashmir or weakens the stand of the people of AJK.

"We want accession of the whole of Kashmir to Pakistan and this will be decided by the people of Jammu and Kashmir collectively," he said.

Addressing a public gathering in Berri village on Friday, Masood said that the people of the liberated territory including Berri had shed their blood for freedom and to become part of Pakistan but their mission is still unaccomplished.

He said that we must understand that Kashmir was being disintegrated by not Pakistan but India which on 31 October 2019, first bifurcated Kashmir into Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir declaring them part of the Indian Union, and the very next day, it released fake maps showing Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan as parts of India.

Pakistan, the AJK president said, is the only country which courageously and firmly stood with the Kashmiri people, and "we need to further strengthen our bonds with the state of Pakistan".

He went on to say that despite being divided in various political parties and having political differences, it is a matter of great pride for us that political leadership of the liberated territory is unanimous on the Kashmir issue, freedom from India and the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people.

"We feel the agonies and the pain of our brothers and sisters in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), and it is our national and religious obligation to help them to get rid of these miseries."

About Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), he said that all political parties of Azad Kashmir, All Parties Hurriyat Conference as well as Jamaat-e-Islami Gilgit and Jamiat Ulemae Islam have the same stand but other parties of Gilgit-Baltistan have a different stand on this issue. "Therefore, it is necessary that all the stakeholders sit together to make any decision about the future of this region."

Referring to the demands of the people of the area, Masood said that Rawalakot, Beirri, Pachiyot and all adjoining areas are beautiful gifts of the nature which "we should cherish and develop these areas to turn them into tourism hubs so that the economic conditions of the people can be improved and new employment opportunity in the areas could be created".

The development of the basic infrastructure of the area, he said, is a priority of the government to make these areas attractive for both domestic and international tourists. The president also said that in a democratic society the people do not need to pursue the rulers and their elected representatives for resolution of their problems but it is the duty of the elected representatives to go to the people and find out their problems and solve them instantly.

Earlier in their addresses, various speakers demanded that a monument should be built in memory of the martyrs of Beirri, provision of the basic health centre in the area, upgradation of Government Boys High School as college and construction of an examination hall to alleviate the difficulties of students.

The speakers also paid tributes to President Masood for his tireless efforts to resolve the Kashmir issue and raise the voice of the people of IIOJK in various forums of the world.

Chaired by the former AJK Legislative Assembly Speaker Sardar Siab Khalid, the function was also addressed among others by the PML-N leader Sardar Ashiq, Barrister Danish Riaz, Sardar Tauseef Aziz, Sardar Said Hussain Khan, Dr Mohammad Ali, Lala Mohammad Saghir, and traders' leader Hameed Sheikh.

Later, the president also visited Mujahidabad where traders' leaders Sardar Toseef Aziz, Mumtaz Hussian and Sardar Javed Sadiq apprised him of problems of the local people including the business community.

A delegation of students of the University of Poonch also called on the state president and briefed him of their problems including a reduction in fees for the period of Covid-19 pandemic and increase of seats for students of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and erstwhile Fata in different departments of the university.