ISLAMABAD: The Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan has said that after the coming into power of the federal government, the Azad Kashmir government is suffering from serious problems.
Addressing a function at the Prime Minister’s House in Muzaffarabad, he said it has become a routine of the federal government to interfere in the financial affairs of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. He said according to the 2018 financial agreement, the share of Azad Kashmir is 3.6percent of the total revenue received by the federation, which is calculated to be Rs 225 billion.
He deplored the present federal government’s self-determined grant of Rs 74.32 billion for Azad Kashmir this year and of this, only 59.5 billion has been paid while 15.02 billion is still due.
The AJK Prime Minister said ironically, the burden of salary, pension and hardship allowance of the employees has been put on the responsibility of Azad Kashmir government, which is unfair and cannot be accepted under any circumstances. He said the AJK government cannot leave the people helpless and will ensure the protection of the public in every way.
Sardar Tanveer Ilyas further said the federal government’s cut on the development and non-development budget has frozen the development process in Azad Kashmir. The projects, he added, started in 2015 have also been made part of the annual development program of the Azad Kashmir government. He said funds for Rathua Hariyam Bridge, Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly building and Neelum Nail Road are also pending.
Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan said the leaders of the federal government sitting in Islamabad do not understand the sensitivity and geographical position of Azad Kashmir and this is the reason why this region is being ignored simply because the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government is here in the State.