MUZAFFARABAD: In view of the sacrifices and the contribution of Kashmiris to the prosperity of Pakistan, it’s the right of the liberated territory of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to get its due share of funds from Islamabad for its development and betterment.

This was the crux of a press conference by four key members of the AJK cabinet here on Tuesday on the issue of alleged budget cuts by the PML-N led federal government.

The cabinet members included Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Khawaja Farooq Ahmed, Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Sardar Mir Akbar, Minister for Hydropower Generation, Planning and Development Chaudhry Mohammad Rasheed and Special Assistant on Information Chaudhry Rafique Nayyar.

“Nevertheless, the PML-N led federal government seems to be bent upon stopping the wheel of development in Azad Kashmir which we condemn vehemently,” remarked planning and development minister Mohammad Rasheed.

The cabinet members alleged that whenever the PML-N came into power in Pakistan it had either slashed AJK’s budget or withheld its quarterly tranches while over the past three years PM Imran Khan’s government had consistently increased AJK’s development portfolio.

“In 1997-98, the PML-N had also trimmed our development budget and the cuts were reversed by Gen Pervez Musharraf,” said Mr Nayyar who was a minister at that time.

Mr Ahmed maintained pointed out that AJK’s current fiscal’s budget was prepared by the [previous] PML-N government which the PTI government implemented without change.

“Practically, the upcoming budget is our first budget and while we were expecting our development portfolio to swell to Rs45 billion, they have reduced it drastically,” he said.

“It has also shifted the burden of the projects previously directly funded by the federal government on our shoulders,” he added.

Mr Ahmed and his colleagues sarcastically stated that AJK was not even worth Rawalpindi’s Nullah Leh which had got Rs55 billion last year.

In response to a question, they said AJK had conveyed its concerns and reservations to Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal and adviser on Kashmir affair and GB Qamar Zaman Kaira, but to no avail.

Mr Akbar maintained that AJK’s status was different from the provinces.

“We have braved Indian aggression for three decades at a stretch. We have served as Pakistan’s first line of defence. What else can be more apathetic than stopping the funds for construction of bunkers along the LoC,” he said.

Mr Akbar maintained that it was not just an issue of the PTI government alone but of the whole state and urged the opposition parties to play their role in this regard.

“If developmental activities come to a grinding halt in this territory, will it not affect those who have voted for the opposition parties,” he questioned and added: “I therefore ask the opposition to join hands with us to address this problem.”

Published in Dawn, June 15th, 2022