February 12, 2008	Tuesday	Safar 04 ,1429

ISLAMABAD, Feb 11: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council at its 41st session on Monday approved amendments to laws relating to electricity and salaries and adapted a new law regarding income tax.

Caretaker Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro presided over the session.

The council adapted the AJK Income Tax (Adaptation and Validation) Act 2008 and approved amendments to the Electricity (Adaptation) Amendment Act 2008 and the Members of AJK Council (Salaries and Allowances) Amendment Act 2008.

Mr Soomro said the government of Pakistan would provide all possible help to Azad Kashmir for its infrastructure and other social development projects to improve people’s living standard.

He said the Kashmir dispute must be resolved in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people as enshrined in the United Nation resolutions.

Expressing concern over human rights violations in the valley by the Indian forces, he said that such oppressive acts must come to an end as the voice of the people could not be suppressed by brutal force.

The prime minister said it was high time to move forward from conflict management to conflict resolution.

He said that durable peace in the region would bring about prosperity for the people and progress for the whole region.

AJK president Raja Zulkarnain Khan said his government supported President Musharraf’s four-point agenda and called upon the Indian leadership to reciprocate in the same spirit.

The Minister for Kashmir Affairs moved a motion for funding building and equipment requirements for the AJK rural support programme which the council approved unanimously.

Caretaker Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz Khan and other members of the council also attended the meeting.

The prime minister in a separate meeting with the AJK president said dialogue on Kashmir would only become meaningful when it embraced the aspirations of the Kashmiris.

The confidence-building measures between Pakistan and India would gain a new impetus once its progress was linked with the progress on efforts to resolve the longstanding Kashmir dispute.