MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly on Thursday unanimously approved the Finance Act 2025, during a session presided over by Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar amid opposition’s boycott.

Finance Minister Abdul Majid Khan presented the report of the select committee on the finance bill, which was endorsed by all members without objection.

Expressing gratitude to coalition partners and assembly members for their support, Mr Khan referred to the demands of the post-1989 Kashmiri refugees and said the government was committed to addressing their concerns within its jurisdiction and would engage the federal government where required.

Responding to a call-attention notice by former prime minister Raja Farooq Haider, Home Minister Waqar Noor assured the House that salary and allowance disparities in the police department would be addressed.

PM says his govt has ensured equitable allocation of development funds among treasury, opposition lawmakers

He noted that the government had already taken significant steps to strengthen the police force by establishing six new police stations, increasing the ration allowance threefold, and supplying new vehicles, with further improvements under way.

Speaking on the occasion, AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq declared that his government had eliminated discrimination in development funding, ensuring equitable allocation among both treasury and opposition lawmakers.

“We have done away with the politics of preferences and prejudices. Resources have been distributed without any bias. If we continue to use our resources without discrimination, most of our problems will vanish.”

Highlighting the fiscal achievements of his administration, he said the newly passed budget was “tax-free, deficit-free, and built entirely on self-reliance.”

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“Despite an estimated shortfall of Rs19 billion, we managed to close the budget with zero-balancing. This is a remarkable step towards financial independence,” he stated.

Mr Haq emphasised the government’s focus on improving public service sectors.

Referring to infrastructure development, he said the government planned to construct or recondition 500 kilometres of roads.

He said that an allocation of Rs1 billion for resettlement of post-1989 refugees had been carried forward.

“Work has already begun on the construction of 700 houses for them.”

Before the House was prorogued by the chair sine die, it also adopted three resolutions addressing national and international developments.

In the first resolution, the House denounced Indian Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks rejecting the Indus Waters Treaty as a serious breach of international law, while also condemning Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir. It called on the UN and global bodies to take urgent notice of growing Hindutva-fuelled extremism and recent Israeli attacks on Iran, urging the OIC to foster unity among Muslim nations.

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Another resolution, moved by former premier Haider, urged the federal government to raise the issue of jailed Kashmiri leader Syed Shabbir Ahmad Shah, suffering from cancer, and called on the UN Secretary-General to ensure his access to medical care and family.

The third resolution, tabled by Rehabilitation Minister Javed Iqbal Budhanvi, praised Pakistan and Iran’s responses to aggression and lauded PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for effectively presenting Pakistan’s and Kashmir’s case on global platforms.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2025