MUZAFFARABAD, Sept 1: The AJK cabinet on Wednesday approved some privileges for former prime ministers of the state for the first time in the parliamentary history of the state.

The meeting, which was chaired by Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat, also approved some facilities for sitting and former lawmakers, an official told newsmen.

According to an amendment to the AJK Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) Act 1975, any person who has been elected prime minister of Azad Kashmir under the Interim Constitution Act, 1974 shall be entitled to use of an official car, services of a driver and fuel consumption of 400 litres per month at government expense.

Besides, the former premier would also be entitled to use of official residence and in case of non-availability of official residence, he would be paid a monthly house rent not exceeding Rs25,000.

The cabinet also approved amendments to the AJK Legislative Assembly (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges of Members) Act, 1975 to provide some facilities to the sitting and former members of the Legislative Assembly.

It decided that in case of death of a sitting MLA, his dependents would be given Rs1 million by the government. Apart from this, it was decided that while on personal tours, sitting or former MLAs would be provided accommodation in the government rest houses in AJK on official rates, subject to availability.

The cabinet also approved 'Establishment and Regulation of Private Sector Universities/Higher Education Institutions Ordinance, 2004' to regulate the affairs regarding private sector universities in AJK in the light of guidelines of the Higher Education Commission and educational requirements of the state.

An amendment to the AJK Ceasefire Line Incidents (Amendment) Act 2002 was also approved to provide compensation to the victims of landmine explosions in the AJK.

The cabinet also approved an amendment to a law regarding the evacuee property, whereby all the allotees included in the 'Allotment Chit' shall have equal rights in the evacuee land allotted to them.

The prime minister recalled that he had earlier directed that the cabinet meetings be summoned twice-a-month, but that direction had not been implemented ostensibly for want of business. He said that from now on, the meeting must be convened at least once-a-month in the first week.

Earlier, through a resolution the cabinet congratulated Shaukat Aziz on his election as prime minister of Pakistan and expressed the hope that he would utilize his experience and abilities to strengthen the country economically "because a strong and prosperous Pakistan guaranteed the freedom of Kashmiris".

It also expressed the hope that settlement of the Kashmir issue in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiris would top the priorities of Mr Aziz. The cabinet condemned the statements of Indian leaders wherein they accused Pakistan of infiltrations across the LoC and declared Kashmir as their integral part. The Indian leaders should avoid giving statements which negate historical facts and tend to vitiate the atmosphere in the region, the cabinet said.