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MUZAFFARABAD:
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Advocate Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry has passed away at the age of 71 after a prolonged illness.
According to a statement issued by the Pakistan People’s Party media office, Chaudhry died in Islamabad.
His funeral prayers will be offered on Sunday (today) at 4:00 pm at the Mirpur Cricket Stadium, after which he will be buried at his ancestral graveyard in Chichiyan. President Chaudhry, a prominent advocate of the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination, was born on August 9, 1955 in Chichiyan, Mirpur in AJK.
He received his early education in his native village, completed his matriculation from Cantt Public School Rawalpindi and graduated from Gordon College Rawalpindi. He later went to the United Kingdom, where he obtained his Bar-at-Law degree from Lincoln’s Inn.
Chaudhry was first elected prime minister of AJK in 1996 and later assumed the presidency in 2021.
Throughout his political career, he was elected as a member of the AJK Legislative Assembly from Mirpur nine times, establishing himself as one of the region’s most enduring political figures.
He remained affiliated and served as president of several political parties including the Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation League, the Pakistan Azad Kashmir People’s Party and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Azad Kashmir. In 2021 he was elected president of AJK.
He played an important role in highlighting the issue of Jammu and Kashmir at the international level. He also led marches in London, outside the United Nations headquarters in New York and outside the Irish Parliament in Dublin.
Furthermore, he held numerous meetings in Islamabad with ambassadors of European and Islamic countries to brief them on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and the continuing human rights violations in the Indian illegally occupied IIOJK of Jammu and Kashmir.
President Chaudhry was the only AJK politician to visit IIOJK. During his visit to Srinagar, he also visited Lal Chowk and Pahalgam and met prominent political leaders including Syed Ali Gilani, Syed Shabbir Shah, Omar Abdullah, Mufti Saeed, Mehbooba Mufti, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik.
Since the 1980s, he remained actively involved in an unprecedented struggle for the right to self-determination of the people of Kashmir and continued his efforts to project the Kashmir issue globally despite the disease. He was considered a popular and highly respected leader of AJK.
President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his deep sorrow over Chaudhry’s death and prayed that he be granted “forgiveness and a high place in heaven,” according to a statement from the Presidency.
The President also conveyed his deepest condolences to the bereaved family and described Chaudhry’s national and political services as “invaluable”.
Senate President Yousaf Raza Gilani also mourned the death of the AJK president, calling him a “principled and worthy politician”.
He said Chaudhry had played an important role in raising the Kashmir issue internationally and his services would always be remembered.
Gilani added that Chaudhry’s political struggle will continue to be a “beacon of the way for generations to come.” He also expressed his solidarity with the family.
National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq expressed grief over the loss and paid tribute to Chaudhry’s “distinguished political and social services”, particularly his invaluable contributions in effectively highlighting the Kashmir cause at international forums.
He said Chaudhry’s defense of the legitimate rights of the Kashmiri people will always be remembered.
