MUZAFFARABAD: The regional leadership of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has made it clear that there will be no compromise on the fiscal and administrative rights achieved by Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) some four years ago through the 13th amendment to its Constitution.

They also declared their strong opposition, both in and outside the AJK Legislative Assembly, to a proposed piece of law being introduced by the PTI government “in the name of tourism promotion”, terming it “anti-state, anti-people and anti-environment”.

“We represent the people of Azad Kashmir and we will never compromise on the rights and authority of the people,” vowed the party’s regional president and secretary general, Shah Ghulam Qadir and Chaudhry Tariq Farooq, respectively, at a joint press conference on Wednesday.

Mr Qadir and Mr Farooq were nominated by PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif on the advice of Nawaz Sharif as new regional leaders on July 6.

Mr Qadir has replaced former premier Raja Farooq Haider who has been elevated as party’s central vice president.

The new leadership was accorded a rousing welcome on its maiden visit to Muzaffarabad late on Tuesday evening.

At the presser, Mr Qadir and Mr Farooq were flanked by former ministers in the previous PML-N government, Raja Abdul Qayyum, Syed Shaukat Ali Shah, Chaudhry Mohammad Saeed, Noreen Arif, Dr Mustafa Bashir, Barrister Iftikhar Gillani, MLA Raja Mohammad Siddique and MLA Waqar Ahmed Noor, as well as dozens of other party leaders and activists.

Mr Haider was however conspicuous by his absence despite being in Muzaffarabad.

As further amendments to the AJK Constitution are a burning issue in AJK, Mr Qadir asserted that his party’s central leadership was also of the view that the rights and powers granted to the AJK government under the 13th amendment would neither be surrendered nor reduced.

He said PM Sharif’s adviser for Kashmir affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira had also told a PML-N AJK chapter delegation that as such no draft had been prepared for the much talked about 15th amendment.

Responding to a question, regional secretary general Farooq maintained that if the PML-N had struck a deal on 13th amendment [in 2018], it would have still been in power.

“The [13th] amendment gave rights to a common man in our state and there isn’t a single point in it that runs counter to the interests of the state of Pakistan. We wonder why different drafts are in circulation in Islamabad and Muzaffarabad,” he said.

Both leaders also took strong exception to a proposed bill envisaging establishment of a tourism authority and special tourism zones in AJK.

“This is an anti-state, anti-people and anti-environment bill, actually aimed at grabbing forest land and other beautiful attractive tourist sites… and we will strongly oppose it at every forum, including the assembly,” they said.

The PML-N leaders also strongly condemned India’s plans to convene the G20 summit meeting in occupied Kashmir and demanded of the federal government to activate its foreign office in stopping the proposed meet in the internationally acknowledged disputed territory.

To a question, they asserted that there was no rift in the AJK chapter and all were united under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2022