May 19, 2006	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 20, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, May 18: Pakistan People’s Party Azad Kashmir (PPP AJK) has welcomed the Charter of Democracy signed between Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in London saying that the specific mention of the Kashmiris’ inherent right to self-determination in the charter was a good sign.

Speaking at a press conference here on his return from the United Kingdom, PPP AJK President Ishaq Zafar said that the two parties had vowed in the charter to resolve the lingering Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions and aspirations of the people of Kashmir. “It is a clear message for the Kashmiris and will go a long way towards boosting their morale,” he remarked.

Secretary General of PPP AJK Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin and Secretary Information Ashraf Janjua were also present on the occasion.

Ishaq Zafar expressed the confidence that the PPP AJK would emerge victorious in the forthcoming AJK polls, if these were held in a free, fair and transparent manner.

He said development of Azad Kashmir and tackling the problem of unemployment would be the top priority of the party after coming into power. He said the party would launch hydro power projects and send Kashmiris abroad to earn livelihood besides generating employment opportunities in the state.

He said tourism would be declared an industry and all possible steps would be taken to attract more and more tourists from different parts of the world to Azad Kashmir. He said tourist spots and world class hotels and restaurants would also be built in the AJK.

Ishaq Zafar said that the party would also take concrete steps for reconstruction and rehabilitation of quake survivors in the 17 affected districts of Azad Kashmir.

He said General Pervez Musharraf was trying to infuse a new spirit in the dead horse of PML to perpetuate his rule. He predicted that PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto would be elected as prime minister for the third time in the next general elections.

He said the federal government was not taking the issue of water reservoirs seriously. Chaudhry Yasin said the announcement by the AJK president, Sardar Anwar Khan, to support the newly established Jammu Kashmir People’s Muslim League (JK PML) was a clear violation of the AJK Constitution.

He called it pre-rigging and urged the federal government to take a serious notice of it. He asked the AJK president to step down if he was so much interested in politics.