Altaf Hamid Rao,
MIRPUR (AJK): : Newly-elected member of Azad Jammu Kashmir Legislative Assembly and former Prime Minister of the State Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry here Tuesday said that establishment of an international airport in expatriates city of Mirpur and the supply of sui natural gas to rest of the city and completion of billions of rupees under-construction Mirpur-Islamgarh bridge were atop his priorities for the uplift of his constituency in the light of the pre-election commitment to the city fellows.
He revealed that he had talked to the top concerned authorities of the PTI-led government of Pakistan regarding the accomplishment of the stranded much-awaited projects of the emergence of international airport, supply of sui gas to rest of the city and completion of Mirpur-Islamgarh bridge in a shortest possible timeframe.
Sultan, also the President of AJK chapter of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, AJK Chapter, was addressing first crowded press conference at the PWD Rest House here after winning the November 24 bye-election to vacant seat of AJK Legislative Assembly from his parent constituency LA-III (Mirpur city) against his nearest rival candidate of the PML (N), AJK Chapter Sohaib Saeed Chaudhry.
He was flanked by dozens of his closest aides including Sardar Sawar Khan (former central Secretary General of his previous organization Azad Muslim Conference), Chief Organizer of the PTI AJK, Chaduhry Zaffar Anwar, Ch. Ansar Saarim, Ch. Mazhar Advocate, Chaudhry Muhammad Mansha, besides hundreds of his supporters.
Sultan thanked the voters from his constituency for electing him the member of the AJK Legislative Assembly reposing confidence and trust in his leadership with an attractive majority.
He continued that despite various hostile tactics of the governmental undue interference and abortive attempts on the part of the sitting ruling PML (N) quarters especially the Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider and 6 to 7 numbers of his cabinet colleagues who remained physically present in the constituency with, with ulterior motives allegedly to rig the polls through different pretext, the electorates voted him and his PTI to make him successful in the election. He said that the induction of the sitting Deputy Commissioner of Mirpur Raja Tahir Mumtaz, the alleged close relative of the Prime Minister Farooq Haider, soon after the earthquake and just before the election process was one of the evidence of the ruling clique to make the ruling party’s candidate successful, he blamed.
Sultan Mahmood said that since the seat had fallen vacant following the disqualification of the ex MLA from the area Chaudhry Muhammad Saeed in a contempt of court case by the Supreme Court of Azad Jammu Kashmir, he had not filed a writ petition against his rival at any of the stage – “as I had focused on to fight for the forthcoming AJK General elections to the State Legislative Assembly due to be held in 2021”, he elaborated.
Sultan Mahmood also accused the AJK government of doing nothing for the rehabilitation and resettlement of the quake-hit Mirpur which suffered the loss of billions of rupees to the local private and public property as a result of the devastating September 24 earthquake of 5.8 magnitude at the Richter scale. He assured to perform his due role as the elected member from the area to get the due rehabilitation process started by the AJK government.
