Muzaffarabad, (Parliament Times) : Prime Minister Azad Kashmir, Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq, while reiterating his commitment to uphold the oath of his office, has vowed to protect the rights of the people of the state.
Prime Minister Haq said this while speaking at a function organized by the Forester and Forest Guard Association regarding the restoration of the forest watchers.
The PM said that he has been struggling hard to put the ruined system back on its feet. He, however, maintained that a proper check and balance system was imperative to ensure sustainable growth and development in the society. “No society can progress unless there is a process of punishment and retribution”, he said.The PM said that it was quite unfortunate that corruption had constitutional protection in Azad Kashmir. “Regionalism, communalism, corruption, extortion, mafia and malfeasance have shaken the very foundation of the region”, he said.He said that every single penny paid by the taxpayers would be protected and spent on the welfare of the people.
The PM said that he took over reins of the government at a crucial time. He said that the government had taken a number of initiatives to improve governance in the region. “It is for the first time in the history of AJK that 25% of the normal budget has been saved”, he said that the saved amount would be spent on welfare of the people.The PM vowed to eliminate dishonesty and corruption from the state.He said that the Health Care system, Education and road infrastructure in Azad Kashmir have witnessed a lot of improvement during the recent past.Voicing his concerns over the growing inflation, he said, “Poverty has severely affected the lives and livelihood of common people”. “An endowment fund worth 10 billion rupees has been established under the social protection program to eradicate poverty from the grassroots level”, he added.
Terming forests as a valuable asset for our future generations, the PM said, “Conservation of forests is the government’s top priority”.He said that the government would solve all the problems of forest employees. “Uniforms and necessary equipment will be provided to the Beldars (Watchers)”, he said.
The function was also attended and addressed by government ministers including Mian Abdul Waheed, Sardar Javed Ayub, Muhammad Akmal Sargala, Nisar Ansar Abdali, Javed Iqbal Badhanvi, Zafraqbal Malik, Chaudhry Qasim Majeed, Pir Mazhar Saeed, Chaudhry Azhar Sadiq, Government Secretaries and officials of the forest department.