MUZAFFARABAD/ MIRPUR (AJK), (Parliament Times): The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi has said that Pak-China Economic Corridor projects will be a milestone for the development and prosperity of the region. He said a comprehensive development strategy is being launched for the socio economic wellbeing of the people of the state according to the vision of Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan.
He said this while talking to a delegation of the Parliamentary Committee on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor here on Friday.
Members of National Assembly Sher Ali Abid, Nafisa Inayatullah Khan Khattak, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for C-Pak Khalid Mansoor Khan, Chief Secretary Azad Kashmir Shakeel Qadir Khan, Secretary C-Pak Committee Saeed Ahmed Mitala. Additional Chief Secretary Development Dr. Sajid Mehmood Chauhan, Secretary to PM Azad Kashmir Zafar Mehmood Khan, Secretary Communications Ghulam Bashir Mughal, Secretary Energy and Water Resources Chaudhry Muhammad Tayyab and others also participated.
The Prime Minister said Mansehra-Muzaffarabad-Mangla-Mirpur Expressway project will serve as a game changer and with the completion of this project all the districts of Azad Kashmir will be connected by a short route and it will be the shortest highway connecting this part of the country. The Prime Minister said that the construction of the Eastern Highway through the Rato Shunter Tunnel will also be the shortest route for Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab to reach Gilgit-Baltistan and will connect Neelam District with Gilgit-Baltistan via a short route. The Prime Minister said the PTI government after coming into Power in Azad Kashmir has taken solid steps for the development and prosperity of the people and added that in the first few months the government launched a special campaign to eliminate encroachments . Clean up campaign was launched in urban and rural areas and tourist spots while a special week was also observed to alleviate the sufferings of the people of LOC in which the Chief Secretary and Secretaries themselves visited the areas of LOC and listened to the problems of the people. The Prime Minister highly appreciated the bold steps taken by the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan on the Kashmir issue in the General Assembly and other international forums and projected the Kashmir issue in its true perspective effectively. He said to implement the vision of the Prime Minister of Pakistan steps are being taken for the promotion of tourism in the state uplift of the poor and welfare of the masses. He said the economic development and construction in Azad Kashmir will have an effect on the other side of the line of control. The Prime Minister said that CPEC projects are essential for the economic development of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir and Establishment of the Mirpur Special Economic Zone will increase investment in Azad Kashmir which will stabilize the economy of the state. . The Prime Minister said that the Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project has been constructed in Muzaffarabad to meet the power shortage and added that the construction of infrastructure will revolutionize tourism in Azad Kashmir.
The delegation was briefed by Additional Chief Secretary Development Dr. Sajid Mehmood Chauhan on hydel and socio-economic development programme launched by the government of Azad Kashmir for the socio economic uplift of the people of the state.
