Muzaffarabad: (Parliament Times) Sardar Masood Khan, President Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Raja Farooq Haider Khan met today at the President House in Muzaffarabad to discuss the successful passage of the 13th amendment of the AJK Interim Constitution Act, 1974, which devolves additional legislative, administrative and financial powers to the Government of the State of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Both leaders said that the passing of the 13th amendment leading to reforms of the AJK Council is a historic step which empowers the Government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The President extended his felicitations to Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider for successfully spearheading the efforts towards the strengthening of the AJK Legislative Assembly and helping pave the way for this significant amendment.
The President said that this amendment truly reflects the sentiments and aspirations of the people of Azad Kashmir towards achieving greater empowerment and autonomy. This, he said, will also open the doors to the accelerated development of infrastructure, power generation, health, education, tourism, industry, agriculture and telecommunications sectors in AJK.
President Masood Khan said that with the passage of the reforms package results in an increase in the responsibilities of the AJK Government where we have to ensure enhanced efficiency and effectiveness of the government machinery, good governance, socio-economic and political development, general welfare of the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir in a sustained manner.
He urged political parties across AJK to forge unity and come towards working together for the welfare of the citizens and the prosperity of Azad Kashmir.
President AJK while commending the efforts of all those involved in the process leading to the 13th Amendment said that with greater financial and administrative autonomy provided through the reform package, the AJK Government to will be able to address more of it chronic issues like the supply of electricity, water usage charge and resource sharing.
The President said that these reforms will help enable the government to streamline matters related to governance, service delivery and enhance the capacity of the administrative machinery by making it more efficient. Empowering AJK’s legislators would make them more accountable and answerable to their constituents, which he said would strengthen the legislative body and the democratic structure in AJK.
Both the President and the Prime Minister expressed their gratitude to former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and former Federal Minister for Kashmir for their his support in approving these well-needed reforms
With these reforms, the President and the Prime Minister said that the citizens and government of AJK have been further empowered, and AJK being the base camp would help inject new vigour towards our struggle for the realization of the right to self-determination of the innocent Kashmiris of Indian Occupied Kashmir.
Both the leaders renewed their pledge to selflessly dedicate all efforts in helping raise the profile of the Kashmir issue and also thanked Pakistan for its continued support to the Kashmir cause.
