MUZAFFARABAD, June 24: Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat on Friday questioned representative character of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) saying it did not cover all regions of Jammu and Kashmir.
“How can we accept any decision (on Kashmir) by those who live under compulsions, do not have unity among themselves and lack representation of all regions,” he said while speaking in the AJK Legislative Assembly.
Hurriyat (love for freedom) had not come out from a specific area, he said, and no one from the Jammu region had visited the AJK and Pakistan.
“The decision of the Kashmiris from both sides, including the non-Muslims, will be welcomed but implementing a decision of one faction or an area cannot be accepted,” he said.
The AJK premier appealed to Hurriyat leaders to forge unity in their ranks and, at the same time, reminded Syed Ali Geelani that ‘difference of opinion’ among the leadership had already left adverse affects on the Kashmiris in 1947.
Responding to criticism on not allocating funds for the freedom movement, he said the opposition should realise limitations of the government.
“Do they want me to raise an army or establish a GHQ,” he sarcastically said and added that it was he who had established Kashmir Liberation Cell in 1987 before the beginning of armed struggle in the held Kashmir.
Sardar Sikandar also criticised AJK President Sardar Mohammad Anwar Khan. “One day he says that AJK leaders are cowards and sycophants and the following day he invites us to a feast,” he said, referring to the president’s dinner for assembly members on Wednesday which was cancelled after the ruling party boycotted it in protest against remarks he had allegedly made.
“It’s a disgrace for political workers. Have we all come here to mint money?” he said.
The prime minister said he could prove that the president had not worked as the head of the state, but he would not say anything which might hurt his or his well-wishers’ feelings.
He said there was a misconception that the AJK was getting liberal grants from the federal government. He informed the house that the AJK had demanded Rs54 billion as its share in the five-year plan but the federal government agreed to give only Rs39 billion.
“And out of that Rs39 billion, our allocation in the first year should have been Rs7-8 billion but we have been given only Rs5.1 billion,” he added.
He said Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was scheduled to visit Muzaffarabad on June 30 to chair the AJK Council meeting and he would take up the issue of funds with him.
He pointed out that the AJK Council was deducting 20 per cent of taxes collected from the AJK territory for its administrative expenses and this rate was too high. He said he had requested Mr Aziz to bring this deduction to 5 per cent.
He said that the raise given in salary of government servants in Pakistan would also be implemented in the AJK.
He announced that 1270 out of 2500 ‘single-school teachers’ would get one more teacher in the next fiscal year and 300 new science teachers would be appointed. The police department would also get 300 new posts, he added.