MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has been postponed due to the ongoing party differences, sources said.
Earlier, Federal Minister Engineer Amir Muqam confirmed that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will undertake a two-day visit to AJK next week on February 23-24.
Sources said he was scheduled to reach Muzaffarabad on February 23 and would conclude his visit on February 24 and return. During the visit, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz was also scheduled to accompany Nawaz Sharif.
He was to expecyed to hold important meetings with the party leadership and workers of Azad Kashmir, including a meeting with President PML-N Azad Kashmir Shah Ghulam Qadir, parliamentary leader Raja Farooq Haider Khan, and other party leaders.
Sources said that during the visit, he would consult the current political situation, organizational matters, and the strategy for the upcoming elections. He was also scheduled to meet with ticket applicants for the general elections of Azad Kashmir, sources said.
Party sources said that the visit was called after the internal rifts were raised within the PML-N AJK party following the press conference of the Opposition Leader in the AJK Assembly, Shah Ghulam Qadir, and former Prime Minister of AJK Farooq Haider, in Muzaffarabad on Wednesday.
In this regard, a crucial meeting was also held under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Amir Muqam and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, in Islamabad last night.
Opposition leaders’ press conference
Yesterday, senior PML-N leaders from Azad Kashmir, Chaudhry Tariq Farooq and Barrister Iftikhar Gilani, announced their disassociation from the opposition’s press conference, which included Farooq Haider, Shah Ghulam Qadir, former premier Anwarul Haq, Mir Akbar, and PTI’s Khawaja Farooq Ahmed.
The press conference was held against the current government of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), where the opposition members strongly criticized the government and made it clear that the PPP government has lost its majority in the House.
Leader of the Opposition Shah Ghulam Qadir claimed that the PPP does not have a clear majority; if their behavior is not corrected, a no-confidence motion can be brought. Qadir further said that the elections are near, which is why we are just watching for now.
Former Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan said that we thought that this government was a temporary arrangement for the elections, but the prediction of the fifth Prime Minister before the upcoming general elections is proving true.
He opposed bringing new projects without the approval of the assembly and said that Pakistan cannot leave the region without any caretaker, as this is its constitutional responsibility.
It should be noted that the General Secretary of the PML-N Azad Kashmir, Chaudhry Tariq Farooq, and the Central Secretary for Information, Barrister Iftikhar Ali Gilani, have expressed their disinterest in the press conference of the party president and parliamentary leader.
Party officials said that for the last four years, the parliamentary party has adopted an attitude against the emotions, feelings, and ideology of the workers, due to which the PML-N workers completely disagree with the decisions and behavior of the parliamentary party.
