MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider vowed on Friday that the supremacy and powers of the legislature would be safeguarded.

He said his government held the judiciary in high esteem and that the parameters for the conduct of judges had been clearly determined in the Constitution.

“We respect the superior and subordinate judiciary and will neither insult any judge nor bring his conduct to the fore,” he maintained.

Legislative Assembly unanimously approves three bills after considering the reports of the concerned standing committees

He expressed these views while speaking on his resolution about the rights of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) on the floor of the Legislative Assembly.

The session was presided over by Speaker Shah Ghulam Qadir.

The prime minister said: “What we saw in Pakistan for the past few months should not see a replication in AJK. No effort to weaken the Legislative Assembly or the government will be allowed to succeed.”

Acknowledging that the people of GB had offered more sacrifices than the people of AJK, he made it clear that no political party in AJK was averse to the grant of rights to GB.

He said the GB people had liberated their territory themselves but historically the areas were part of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.

He asked the government of Pakistan to ensure an empowered setup like that of the AJK for GB instead of giving it a status of a province.

He recalled that under the Karachi Agreement of 1949, the AJK government had handed over the temporary arrangement of GB to the government of Pakistan.

“We want to give a message to the people of GB that we stand by them [in their demand] for their rights,” he said.

The prime minister also disclosed that the AJK government had decided to amend the law governing the AJK accountability bureau.

Recommendations to this effect would be presented in the house soon, he said, adding the opposition would also be taken on board in this regard.

While taking part in the debate on prime minister’s resolution, former premier Chaudhry Abdul Majeed said the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs had no right to announce to extend the jurisdiction of any federal institution to AJK.

Stating that the Karachi Agreement was a temporary arrangement, he demanded of the AJK premier to constitute a committee to draft a strong resolution on GB which should be forwarded to the prime minister of Pakistan.

“We extend our complete support for the constitutional rights of GB but will never support it to become a permanent province,” he said.

MLA Abdur Rashid Turabi of Jamaat-i-Islami said there was complete consensus among all political parties on the resolution on the rights of GB.

He said due to the lack of contacts between the AJK and GB people, the latter had grievances and complaints which were not unfounded.

PTI MLA Abdul Majid Khan also maintained that no political party or leadership in AJK had ever opposed the rights of people of GB.

MLA Sardar Saghir Chughtai of Muslim Conference said accountability bureau would have to be made more effective in AJK.

The house witnessed exchange of barbs by PTI MLA Abdul Majid Khan and Minister for Law Sardar Farooq Ahmed Tahir, but both reconciled with each other afterwards on the intervention of the premier.

The Legislative Assembly on Friday unanimously approved three bills after considering the reports of the concerned standing committees.

The session also unanimously approved three bills namely AJK Legislative Assembly Deputy Speaker (salary, allowances and privileges) Amendment Act 2018, AJK Trade Organisation Registration and Regulation Act 2019 and the AJK Children Employment Ban Act 2017.

Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2019