LAHORE: Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Muhammad Farooq Haider said on Thursday India had been trying to sabotage the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) -- a project that would be a game-changer for Pakistan.

Addressing a gathering of the Lahore High Court Bar Association members, he said India had been stoking unrest in Pakistan as Indians could not tolerate the CPEC project. He said the project would create plenty of job opportunities and increase foreign reserves in Pakistan.

He said Indian atrocities in the held-Kashmir were a very shameful act but, he added, the Kashmiris deserved a salute for their matchless love for Pakistan and hoisting the green flag in their protests.

The AJK prime minister said India itself engineered Pathankot and Uri attacks only to divert world’s attention from Kashmir issue and to defame Pakistan. He said independence of the occupied Kashmir and good governance were priority of his government.

Mr Haider said he gave a constitutional package to the Pakistan government for the resolution of the Kashmir issue. It had been demanded in the package that Gilgit-Baltistan should not be a separate province from Kashmir as it would weaken the case of Pakistan at international fora, he added. During his first visit to Lahore after taking oath as the PM, he also attended a reception and urged the politicians not to divide the nation and take caution during their speeches. He said a strong, stable and democratic Pakistan was the need of the Kashmiris.

“The Kashmiris do not want India-Pakistan war, for it brings destruction but they want that Pakistan continue supporting them in their freedom struggle as they themselves will push India out of the Valley,” he said.

He said he would confine his cabinet to 12 ministers and focus on hydel power projects, tourism and horticulture.

MINISTER: AJK Information Minister Mushtaq Minhas criticised the media for highlighting petty issues at the cost of the sacrifices of the Kashmiris.

Speaking at a reception here on Thursday, he lamented that Pakistani politicians were planning a march on Raiwind for their petty interests. He said if Imran Khan wants to assume power of the country, he should wait until 2018.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2016