MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi on Tuesday asserted that his government was determined to industrial development in the territory and would leave no stone unturned to achieve this goal.

While presiding over a review meeting of the AJK industries department, he directed the participants to come up with a comprehensive strategy to promote industrialisation in the state in addition to taking the requisite steps to enhance cooperation and coordination with the federal government’s institutions in this regard.

The industries department should play a proactive role in securing investments particularly in minerals, tourism and agriculture sectors, he stressed.

“We need to devise a workable plan for establishment of factories in our six industrial estates and [proposed] special economic zone,” he said, asking officials to suggest reforms in relevant laws on the pattern of provinces.

He also exhorted them to properly publicise the special tax exemption scheme for the people interested in industrial undertakings in AJK.

Mr Niazi pointed out that since AJK had insufficient jobs in the public sector, encouragement and promotion of industrialisation could help it create extensive as well as valuable employment opportunities in the private sector and thus bring prosperity in the lives of people.

Mr Niazi expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Imran Khan for considering AJK in the federal government’s policies on domestic commerce, e-commerce, small and medium entrepreneurs and other initiatives.

Earlier, the review meeting evaluated the past six months performance and next six months targets of the trade and industries department.

It approved four development projects, the major one of which was creation of a special economic zone in Mirpur at a cost of Rs 2.24 billion.

The special economic zone project, the meeting resolved, would be included in the “Kashmir Development Package” which the AJK government claims has been approved by Prime Minister Khan for AJK’s socio-economic and infrastructure development at a cost of Rs 500 billion.

Among other approvals, the meeting gave the nod to a Rs125 million project to carry out development works in the industrial estates of Kotli, Rawalakot, Dadyal, Bhimber and Muzaffarabad and thus facilitate the traders concerned.

Two schemes worth Rs65 million and Rs25 million were approved, respectively, to eradicate child labour and promote and encourage small businesses in AJK.

The meeting was told that the Rs65 million project would be accomplished with the assistance of the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), where under child labour surveys would also be conducted in Muzaffarabad and Mirpur.

Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2022