Islamabad, (Parliament Times) : Prime Minister Azad Jammu and Kashmir Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq has said that we don’t ask for free electricity for Azad Kashmir but we demand the federal government to provide electricity at the rate it was generated locally.
Talking to a private news channel, the AJK premier, while referring to the inflated electricity bills and other issues of concern, said, “We are charged 30 to 40 rupees per unit while the cost of production per unit is 3 to 4 rupees”.
About electricity consumption in Azad Kashmir, the PM said that the AJK’s power requirement was not more than 350 to 400 megawatt (MW). As compared to the power consumption, he said that Azad Kashmir has a potential of generating 8 to 9 thousand MW of electricity.
Referring to Article 175 and 161 of the Constitution of Pakistan, the PM said, ” As per the constitution, the people of the area in which electricity is generated shall have precedence over other parts of the country in meeting the energy requirements”.
The PM said that he had raised the issue in the recently held Senate Committee meeting and asked the relevant ministry to take up the matter and resolve it forthwith.
Mr. Haq said that the government of Azad Kashmir was ready to play its role and share the burden to improve the country’s economy.
He said that the people of Azad Kashmir have rendered huge sacrifices for Pakistan. He said that the construction of the Mangala Dam in 1967, bears testmony as how the people of AJK vacated their ancestral towns and villages to build the dam that has been instrumental in the agricultural, industrial, and energy sectors of Pakistan since its construction in 1967.
He said that the people of Azad Kashmir yet again offered huge sacrifices after the Mangala Dam uprising project was finalized in 2003.
Regarding the issue of royalty, the PM said that the standard set for the royalty of dams in AJK was not based on justice. The Prime Minister said that it was quite unfortunate that there was no formal royalty agreement on Neelum Jhelum project, which creates enormous environmental problems in the region.
He said that the attitude of the Federal Finance Secretary with the government of Azad Kashmir was not fair.
The Finance Secretary, he said, should realize the fact he was talking to no less a person than the elected representative of Azad Kashmir.
He said that the relationship between the people of Kashmir and Pakistan was unbreakable. “We have always been sincere and loyal to Pakistan but no one has the right to raise a finger at us when we talk about our legitimate rights”, the PM said, adding that he was a proud Kashmiri but love for Pakistan runs in his blood.
The prime minister said that he was encouraged by meeting the caretaker foreign minister.
In response to the question regarding the salaries of the employees of the Kashmir Council, the Prime Minister said how can Azad Kashmir’s tax money be spent on the salaries of the employees who do not work for Azad Kashmir?
The prime minister said that the tragedy was that 280 permanent and 80 contingent employees of the Kashmir Council who lived in the federal capital had been demanding salaries from the AJK government.
The Prime Minister said that the AJK government won’t tolerate ghost employees.