ON THE CAMPAIGN ROUTE: PML-N President Nawaz Sharif addresses a rally in Muzaffarabad. PHOTO: X/PMLNORG
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday pledged to revive development projects in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), saying that if his party won the upcoming elections, he would ask Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to appoint him as AJK Prime Minister so that he could personally oversee the development of the region.
Addressing a PML-N election rally in Muzaffarabad, Nawaz said he had deep affection for both Azad Kashmir and Indian Illegally Occupied Kashmir (IIOJK), adding that despite extensive infrastructure development across Pakistan, AJK had not received similar attention.
“Highways and highways have been built all over Pakistan, but the same road that existed 30 years ago still serves Muzaffarabad. Why has no road been built from Kohala to Muzaffarabad?” asked.
The former prime minister said that during his tenure, when Raja Farooq Haider was chief minister of AJK, he approved a highway project linking Mansehra, Muzaffarabad and Mirpur along the Jhelum river.
He hailed the project as one of the best and most unique development schemes of Pakistan and said it was the PML-N’s gift to the people of AJK.
Nawaz said the completion of the project would have transformed the region by creating a network of roads, hospitals, schools, colleges and universities, bringing widespread prosperity.
He said he had never discriminated between AJK and Pakistan’s provinces including Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad.
“For me, Azad Kashmir is as dear as Punjab. It is my second home. My ancestors migrated from Kashmir,” he said.
The former prime minister said he had asked Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to bring a “gift” for the people of Kashmir, just as guests traditionally bring sweets or fruits when they visit someone’s house.
“Our program is extensive. If the PML-N forms the government here, we will complete all the projects we have promised,” he said.
Nawaz said he wanted to ask Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to appoint him AJK chief minister if the party emerged victorious in the elections.
“If I become chief minister here, we will solve all the problems and difficulties faced by Azad Kashmir,” he said.
He added that even if he did not become AJK chief minister, he would issue instructions to local party leaders to ensure implementation of the party manifesto and would personally visit Muzaffarabad, Rawalakot and other cities every three months, accompanied by the chief minister, to monitor the progress.
Referring to the development initiatives announced by the Punjab government for AJK, Nawaz said that 10 eco-friendly buses will reach Muzaffarabad in the coming days, while electric buses will soon start operating in the city.
He also announced that 15 mobile hospitals would be provided to AJK, saying the initiative would improve healthcare services in remote areas.
“It is unfortunate that when someone falls ill here, they still have to be carried in a charpoy to the road before being transported to Islamabad. Some even die on the way. This should not be the case,” he said.
Nawaz said projects started during his tenure, including the highway plan, remained incomplete because his government could not complete them.
“If those projects had continued, they would not only have been completed but expanded even further. We have lost a lot of time and that saddens me deeply,” he said.
He said no more time should be wasted to ensure AJK’s prosperity and development, alleging that succeeding governments had failed to deliver, relying instead on sloganeering and emotional rhetoric while harming Pakistan.
“If we return to power, we will make up for everything that has been lost,” he said.
The former prime minister said it was his wish and prayer that Muzaffarabad would one day surpass Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta in terms of development and prosperity.
Punjab development model in AJK
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz took aim at Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), her party’s ally in the federal government, for failing to resolve the region’s problems despite being in power there.
Addressing the public meeting, Maryam promised to replicate Punjab’s development model in AJK, announcing a package of welfare and infrastructure initiatives, including the introduction of electric buses, mobile hospitals and social protection schemes, while urging voters to elect the PML-N in the July 27 legislative assembly elections.
Announcing “gifts” for the people of Muzaffarabad, the Punjab chief minister said 10 eco-friendly electric buses would be provided for the AJK capital, while 15 mobile hospitals “hospitals on wheels” would be launched to improve healthcare services in remote areas.
“I am not here just to make promises. I am here to present our performance over the last two years in Punjab,” he said, urging voters to compare the PML-N’s governance record with that of its political rivals.
Maryam said she considered both AJK and IIOJK as her home and described herself as Kashmiri “in blood, heart, soul and descent”.
“This is my hometown. Kashmir is our jugular vein. These valleys, these mountains and these brothers and sisters are mine,” he declared, paying tribute to the Kashmiri martyrs and reaffirming Pakistan’s support for the Kashmir cause.
He questioned why the much-awaited Kohala-Muzaffarabad Expressway was yet to be completed and said PML-N was committed to improving road infrastructure across AJK.
“If the people elect a PML-N government in AJK, we will change their destiny,” he said, adding that the development seen in Punjab could be replicated in the region.
Referring to the public transport system introduced in Punjab, Maryam said that eco-friendly electric buses had even reached the Tehsil headquarters and similar projects would be implemented in AJK.
‘The failure of the PPP’
Maryam also slammed the PPP and questioned why the party had not taken up public issues despite being in the AJK government.
“Some people have been coming here in recent days, making speeches, voicing grievances, voicing grievances and making accusations. I want to remind you, in all sincerity, who you are accusing. The government here is yours,” he said.
Without directly naming former Prime Minister Imran Khan, he also referred to his earlier comments on the numerical strength of political parties in the 2021 elections, saying that political realities had changed due to public support for the PML-N.
Highlighting Punjab’s welfare initiatives, Maryam said that more than 400 children from AJK had received life-saving surgeries in Punjab hospitals. He added that more than seven million people received free medicines under the provincial health care program.
He said the Punjab government had launched door-to-door delivery of public services through the ‘Maryam Ki Dastak’ initiative, under which birth certificates and other official certificates were provided to citizens at their homes. Similar governance reforms will be introduced in AJK, he said.
The Punjab chief minister also highlighted various social welfare programmes, including the Nawaz Sharif Rashan Card, under which deserving families receive monthly food assistance worth Rs 3,000, and the Rehmat Card for widows, which provides annual financial assistance of Rs 100,000.
Furthermore, he announced that a ‘Himmat Card’ would be introduced for disabled people in AJK if the PML-N formed the next government.
Calling for greater economic opportunities, Maryam urged Prime Minister Shehbaz to extend interest-free loan schemes to residents of AJK to promote entrepreneurship and employment.
He maintained that a strong Pakistan was essential for a strong AJK and said that the prosperity and stability of the AJK was directly related to the economic strength of Pakistan.
“Today, the problems affecting Kashmir are due to that mistake,” he said.
Reiterating that Kashmir and Pakistan shared “unbreakable ties”, he said those inciting people to pick up batons were “not friends”. “Nawaz Sharif and I want the youth to have laptops and degrees,” he added.
He urged people to elect their representatives after comparing development in PML-N-ruled regions with areas administered by other parties. Referring to his trip earlier that day, he said development stopped where the jurisdiction of the Punjab government ended.
“In Punjab, where Nawaz Sharif’s government is in power, everything changes the moment the province boundaries end. Roads disappear, cleanliness disappears, development disappears and public transport disappears. So what is the difference? The difference is Nawaz Sharif. The difference is Pakistan Muslim League-N,” he said.
He said those whose own provinces had broken roads could not be expected to build roads in Azad Kashmir, while those who had not provided medical care in their own provinces could not provide medical facilities to the people of AJK.
He also alleged that resources in those provinces were lost due to corruption and questioned how those governments could ensure that the people of Azad Kashmir received their due rights. Urging people to vote wisely, he added: “This is not just a decision about your vote; it is a decision about your destiny.”
In a political appeal to the electorate, Maryam said that regardless of who becomes the next chief minister of AJK, “the chief minister will have to adopt the development model of the Punjab government”, asserting that only the PML-N possessed the experience and capacity to execute development projects.
He concluded by asking voters to support the PML-N in the upcoming elections, promising that the party would transform AJK through the same governance model that he claimed had brought visible improvements to Punjab.
Unity with Shah Ghulam Qadir
Meanwhile, Nawaz Sharif made a symbolic show of party unity during the public rally by inviting AJK PML-N president Shah Ghulam Qadir on stage and raising his hand before thousands of party workers and supporters chanting “Nawaz Sharif Zindabad”.
The gesture, witnessed by a lively gathering at the Khurshid Hassan Khurshid Stadium, was widely seen as a reaffirmation of Nawaz Sharif’s confidence in Shah Ghulam Qadir’s leadership and an endorsement of the AJK party leadership ahead of the July 27 AJK Legislative Assembly elections.
The event marked one of the largest public gatherings of the party during the election campaign and was attended by senior PML-N leaders, election candidates, MPs and party workers from across the Muzaffarabad Division.
Political observers considered Nawaz Sharif’s public gesture towards Shah Ghulam Qadir as a significant message of party cohesion at a crucial stage of the election campaign.
