Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi has said that the PTI led government has decided to hold local bodies elections in May next year in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to transfer power to grassroots level as per the vision of Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan.
He expressed these views while talking to media in the State metropolis on Wednesday.
The Minister for Local Government Khawaja Farooq Ahmed, Minister for Planning and Development Chaudhry Muhammad Rashid, Minister for Communications Chaudhry Azhar Sadiq, Minister for Education Dewan Ali Khan Chughtai, Minister for Higher Education Zafar Iqbal Malik, Special Assistant for Religious Affairs Hafiz Hamid Raza, Member Assembly and Parliamentary Secretary Prof Taqdis Gilani, Information Secretary Midhat Shehzad and Director General Information Raja Azhar Iqbal were also present on the occasion.
The Prime Minister said the previous governments have not been able to hold the local bodies elections for the last three decades but the PTI government is going to hold the local bodies election to transfer power at grassroots level.
He said the Supreme Court has given a historic decision regarding the holding of local bodies election and we are grateful to the Supreme Court.
The Prime Minister said that the government is fully prepared to hold local body elections in Azad Kashmir and added that the previous governments considered the local body elections as a threat to them so they kept running away from it.
He said the present government has accepted the challenge and by the grace of Allah we will return successful in this regard.
The Prime Minister said that after taking over the office of the Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir, he met the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan and discussed with him regarding the holding of local bodies elections in the state which he fully supported.
He thanked the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan for his full support in connection with the holding of local bodies elections.
The Prime Minister said the government has conducted five meetings in a short period of time regarding the holding of local body elections and discussed all legal aspects in this regard.
He said the government has prepared the comprehensive document which was presented in the supreme court regarding the holding of local bodies elections.
The Minister for Local Government, Chief Secretary, Secretary Law, Secretary Local Government and Principal Secretary have played a vital role regarding the holding of local bodies elections in the state.
He said the holding of local body elections will help facilitate the people and funds will be transferred at a lower level and the journey of construction and development will move forward in a better way.
The Prime Minister said the journey of construction and development initiated by the government will continue to bring about socioeconomic changes in the lives of the people of the state.
The Prime Minister said that the government has decided to hold the local body elections in May next year, however the process of delimitation and other arrangements may take one or two months more.
Replying to a question, the Prime Minister said that local body elections would be held on party basis in which women and youth would be given 25% representation.
The Prime Minister said that the PTI government has accelerated the tempo of construction and development activities for the wellbeing of the people after coming into power.
He said the government has spent 71% development expenditure in the first quarter, despite restrictions and a court order and added that Development projects are being worked on all over Azad Kashmir.
In reply to another question, the Prime Minister said that the previous government had failed to provide the space for the construction of Shah Sultan Bridge and CMH flyover in Muzaffarabad.
Replying to another question, the Prime Minister said that the PTI government has relinquished 63 kanals of land from Muzaffarabad city in an operation against land mafia as per the vision of the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan’.
