MUZAFFARABAD, June 7: Azad Kashmir’s Prime Minister Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan on Thursday predicted major developments on the Kashmir issue in coming days and called for demonstration of greater responsibility by the Kashmiri leaders on both sides of the divide.
“It gives me immense satisfaction that the interest in settlement of the Kashmir issue is multiplying in the world and this hasnecessitated unity and harmony in the ranks of Kashmiri leaders on both sides of the divide,” he told reporters at the Mirpur District Headquarters Hospital. A doctor couple from occupied Kashmir, Dr Irfan and Dr Saima, had joined the hospital as medical officers.
The prime minister appreciated the administrations of New Delhi and Srinagar for their contributions to the efforts for restoration of peace.
The peace process had reduced tension in the region, he said. “Its continuity is a big success in itself and this process is bound to deliver,” he said.
Sardar Attique said that while he had taken the lead in reserving seats for students from occupied Kashmir in a cadet college here, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had also decided to grant admissions to students from the AJK in the universities of Jammu and Kashmir.
He reiterated his offer for jobs in Azad Jammu and Kashmir to skilled youths from occupied Kashmir.
The prime minister reiterated his offer to supply gas and electricity to occupied Kashmir, asserting that it would go a long way in bringing the two regions closer.
“Our responsibilities have increased manifold and we will have to devise a unanimous course of action to combat the challenges and achieve the targets,” he added.
Responding to a question, Sardar Attique said he did not find fault with the statement of Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in Shimla on Sunday that India could not give a timeframe for the resolution of the Kashmir issue. “Mr Mukherjee is right because a timeframe on Kashmir cannot be given. And when we look at his statement against the backdrop of India’s refusal for years to hold talks on Kashmir, it appears to be a positive thing,” he said.
