MUZAFFARABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is expected in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Tuesday on a brief visit to offer condolences to the family of late Kashmiri leader Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan and inspect an ongoing mega hydropower project.

According to government officials, Mr Sharif would land near Ghaziabad village of district Bagh sometime between 10:30 and 11 am to lay floral wreath at the grave of the Kashmiri leader and offer condolences to his son and former AJK premier Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan.

It may be recalled here that Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan, a former AJK president and prime minister and supreme head of Muslim Conference, had passed away in Islamabad on July 10 after protracted illness. His funeral prayers were offered in Islamabad the same evening and in Ghaziabad on the following morning.

Mr Sharif was out of the country during those days. However, he and other top public office holders in Pakistan were subjected to scathing criticism on social media by the fans and followers of late Kashmiri leader for not making it to Ghaziabad to attend funerals or offer condolences.

However, PML-N AJK senior vice president Chaudhry Tariq Farooq told Dawn that prime minister could not visit Ghaziabad due to his pressing official and personal commitments.

“It was however certain that he will visit Ghaziabad as earliest as possible,” he said.

He said PML-N AJK chapter president and Leader of the Opposition in AJK Legislative Assembly Raja Farooq Haider would receive Mr Sharif at the Ghaziabad helipad on Tuesday.

It may be interesting to mention here that the late leader and his son enjoyed quite close relations with the Sharifs for a long time. However, a wedge was created between them after the father-son-duo grew closer to military ruler Pervez Musharraf.

After his return from exile, Mr Sharif did not visit the ailing Kashmiri leader at his Rawalpindi residence or hospital, notwithstanding repeated attempts and efforts by some common friends.

Later, he would inspect the construction work of Neelum Jhelum Hydro Electric Project (NJHEP) in Majhoi, some 20 kilometers south of Muzaffarabad.

The 969MW project was scheduled to become operational by the end of 2016 but the deadline might not be met due to hostile contractors and other financial issues.

There were unconfirmed reports that the prime minister might also stop for half an hour at the breathtakingly beautiful tourist resort of Banjosa in district Poonch on his way back to Islamabad.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2015

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