AJK president Sultan Mehmood passes away

MUZAFFARABAD:

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry has passed away at the age of 71 after a prolonged illness.

According to a statement issued by the Pakistan Peoples Party's media office, Chaudhry died in Islamabad.

His funeral prayers will be offered on Sunday (today) at 4:00 pm at Mirpur Cricket Stadium after which he will be laid to rest in his ancestral graveyard at Chichiyan. President Chaudhry, a leading advocate of the Kashmiri people's right to self-determination, born on August 9, 1955 in Chichiyan, Mirpur in AJK.

He received his early education in his native village completed matriculation from Cantt Public School Rawalpindi and graduated from Gordon College Rawalpindi. He later went to the United Kingdom where he earned law degree (Bar-at-Law) from Lincoln's Inn.

Chaudhry was first elected as AJK prime minister in 1996 and later became president in 2021.

Over the course of his political career, he was elected nine times as a member of the AJK Legislative Assembly from Mirpur, establishing himself as one of the most enduring political figures in the region.

He remained affiliated with and served as president of several political parties, including the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation League, Pakistan People's Party Azad Kashmir and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Azad Kashmir. In 2021, he was elected president of AJK.

He played a significant role in highlighting the Jammu and Kashmir issue at the international level. He also led marches in London, outside the United Nations headquarters in New York and in front of Irish Parliament in Dublin.

Additionally, he held numerous meetings in Islamabad with ambassadors of European and Islamic countries to brief them on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and ongoing human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir IIOJK.

President Chaudhry was the only politician from AJK to have visited IIOJK. During his visit to Srinagar, he also visited Lal Chowk and Pahalgam and met prominent political leaders, including Syed Ali Gilani, Syed Shabbir Shah, Omar Abdullah, Mufti Saeed, Mehbooba Mufti, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik.

Since the 1980s, he remained actively engaged in an unparalleled struggle for the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people and continued his efforts to project the Kashmir issue globally despite illness. He was regarded as a popular and widely respected leader of AJK.

President Asif Ali Zardari expressed deep sorrow over Chaudhry's passing and prayed that he be granted "forgiveness and a high place in heaven", according to a statement from the Presidency.

The president also conveyed heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family and described Chaudhry's national and political services as "invaluable".

Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani also mourned the AJK president, calling him a "dignified and principled politician".

He said Chaudhry had played a significant role in raising the Kashmir issue at the international level and that his services would always be remembered.

Gilani added that Chaudhry's political struggle would remain a "beacon of the way for the upcoming generations." He also extended his sympathies to the family.

National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq expressed grief at the loss, paying tribute to Chaudhry's "distinguished political and social services, particularly his invaluable contributions towards effectively highlighting the Kashmir cause at international forums".

He said Chaudhry's advocacy for the legitimate rights of the Kashmiri people would always be remembered.