ISLAMABAD, Jan 27: Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat on Thursday assured all possible help to the people affected by Mangla dam construction.

He was talking to a representative delegation of effected people from Mirpur at his office. The minister told the delegation that the government would not disappoint the affected people. They had offered a great sacrifice for the dam which was a national service, he said.

He commended the people of Azad Kashmir who were always in forefront whenever asked for any service. The delegation told the minister that they had been holding rallies in favour of the dam's construction which paved the way for the project.

The members of the delegation told the minister that they were facing difficulties because of wrong definition of family. They demanded that compensation for families should be enhanced from Rs300,000 to Rs600,000.

The delegation also said local people had occupied the land allotted to refugees from Chhamb area in 1965, and it needed to be vacated. Their demands included sending the affected people for employment abroad and quota in jobs.

The minister asked the members of the delegation to meet the senior joint secretary of the ministry on February 7. Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas Secretary Rasool Bakhsh Baloch and Senior Joint Secretary Talib Hussain Sial were also present during the meeting.

Meanwhile, presiding over a meeting of elected members of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council, Faisal Saleh Hayat promised a better development plan in the AJK out of the AJK Council funds.

He said he had taken strong exception to delay in implementation of the development projects and had called a meeting on February 2 to discuss the issue. He said to project the efforts of the government of Pakistan to resolve the Kashmir issue, two council delegation would visit the UK and the US in February and March.

The minister also asked the elected members to visit various parts of Pakistan to educate people, especially the younger generation, about the Kashmir cause. It was also decided in the meeting to strengthen the role of Information Section of AJK Council Secretariat.