MUZAFFARABAD: With an overwhelming majority in the 49-member Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly, the PML-N government has found critics within, after two of its lawmakers delivered fiery speeches in the house, inveighing against much-touted good governance.

However, the strictures by Chaudhry Yasin Gulshan and Raja Mohammad Siddique during the debate on 2017-18 budget did not surprise many on the treasury benches, as some of them of late are often noticed expressing discontent with the working of Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider in private conversations in a rather more aggressive style.

“Our workers across AJK are in a state of disappointment. We had promised employment and development and we have failed on both counts… The performance of our government is not good and needs improvement,” said Mr Gulshan, elected from Abbaspur, a constituency that runs along the Line of Control and was badly hit by recent cross border shelling.

“I am thankful for being given the floor, but today I had decided to avoid making a speech because speeches do not help address problems,” he said.

Mr Gulshan pointed out that his constituency had recently suffered huge losses to Indian shelling and regretted that none of the government functionaries could spare time to visit the area to assess the situation and console the victims.

“It’s a war-like situation in my area but no one is bothered about rehabilitation of the victims. Nonetheless we claim that we have ‘good governance’ here,” he said, in a reference to what has become a taunt for the PML-N government in AJK.

Mr Gulshan also took exception to the recently announced emergency health service programme and said the initiative was useless for the people of his area, which lacked a very basic requirement for it – a hospital.

Similarly, he said the dilapidated main artery in his constituency also mocked the claims of development.

Turning his guns towards the cabinet, he said he failed to understand whether it had been constituted for the entire state or a few constituencies.

“Mr prime minister, don’t leave us at the mercy of your kitchen cabinet. See the situation yourself and do justice,” he said.

He recalled that a kitchen cabinet also existed in the PPP government, and even though its members had also arbitrarily doled out funds and schemes to their constituencies, they were however rejected in elections.

Mr Gulshan also came down upon the hiring of the National Testing Service (NTS) for the recruitment of teachers in AJK, something the government has repeatedly referred to as a milestone in enforcement of merit.

“Don’t we have a handful of honest and upright officers to carry out the task of fair recruitment,” he asked.

Mr Gulshan listed several other problems of his constituency and said he felt ashamed before his electorate, particularly when they reminded him that he represented a party that was in power not only in Muzaffarabad but also in Islamabad.

If his outburst was not enough, Mr Siddique also took exception to alleged discrimination with Pakistan-based refugees.

He said it was unfair to earmark a “paltry” 5pc of the development budget for 12 constituencies of Kashmiri refugees.

He praised former prime minister Sardar Attique Ahmed for allocating, for the first time, Rs2 million in development funding for each constituency of Pakistan-based refugees.

Mr Siddique lamented that despite being the “base camp” the government had not allocated sufficient funds for the projection of the Kashmir cause.

“In fact the situation that prevailed during the previous PPP government remains unchanged,” he said.

He also criticised the recent appointment of a political activist at a top position in the Kashmir Cell, who he said had joined PML-N after elections “but possessed the quality of sycophancy.” He said refugee MLAs would thwart all attempts to abolish their seats.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MLA Abdul Majid Khan and several lawmakers from the treasury benches also spoke on the budget.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2017