ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s ruling party leader Nawaz Sharif on Saturday voiced concern over the political environment in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), saying successive governments had not met public expectations, and called for a major development push as his party moved closer to forming the next regional government.
Sharif’s remarks came as re-polling was held at 23 stations in two constituencies in Bagh district during the day, extending a staggered election that unfolded against weeks of deadly unrest, boycott calls and allegations of rigging. The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party appeared to be in a comfortable position and was on course to secure a majority in the 53-member legislative assembly.
The elections in the Pakistan-administered part of the Himalayan region were held in phases amid tensions between authorities and the Joint Awami Action Committee, or JAAC, which led protests over political and economic grievances and called for a boycott of the vote.
Deadly clashes erupted after the first phase of polling in late July, particularly around Rawalakot, while road closures and an Internet blackout disrupted parts of the region. The government blamed armed protesters for the violence, while the JAAC, which was proscribed under the anti-terrorism act in June, accused authorities of using excessive force.
“In Azad Kashmir, for the first time, such an environment has emerged, which you have also seen and which is a cause of concern for all of us,” Sharif told a PML-N convention in a televised address from the hill resort of Murree.
“This has happened because successive governments here did not fulfil their responsibilities. And the aspirations of the people, the wishes of the people, our governments, regardless of which party they belonged to, could not live up to them.”
Sharif said his party now had a responsibility to respond to those concerns by accelerating development in the region.
He urged his younger brother, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who was also present at the convention, to provide maximum federal funding to AJK for roads, hospitals, employment, tourism, industry and agriculture.
“If we fail to deliver, then I think the people of Azad Kashmir will become angry, and they would have good reason to be angry,” Sharif said. “We would then need to look within ourselves.”
He called for the revival of projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in AJK and proposed extending road and rail links from Islamabad and Rawalpindi through Murree to Muzaffarabad.
“We have to bring development to Azad Kashmir ... We have to eliminate the problems there, and what we are doing in Punjab, we have to put it into practice in Azad Kashmir as well,” he said.
