MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Assembly has passed a controversial law under which the complete authority to identify and utilize local development fund schemes will now rest solely with elected assembly members.
This move, widely seen as serving the self-interests of lawmakers, has effectively sidelined nearly 3,000 elected local councilors from the development process.
This law was passed at a time when tensions between India and Pakistan in South Asia are rising, and the region faces a real threat of war. The Assembly session was called under the pretext of discussing this serious situation.
Although a resolution was passed on the matter, it was largely symbolic. In reality, the Assembly used the ongoing tension as an opportunity to pass the controversial law related to local government funds.
It is important to note that on February 19, 2025, the Azad Kashmir High Court handed down a decision, directing that development funds must be spent only through elected local representatives, in line with the 1990 Local Government Act.
Despite this, the Assembly passed a new law stating that all local government schemes will now be identified solely by the assembly members.
All parties in the coalition government — Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Forward Bloc), Pakistan Muslim League (N), and Pakistan Peoples Party — supported the law.
PTI, which has generally been seen as a supporter of the local government system in the region, also stood with the government on this occasion.
Azad Kashmir receives an annual development grant from Pakistan. For the current financial year, this amount is Rs. 28 billion, out of which about Rs. 4 billion has been allocated to local government. Before the court’s decision, approximately Rs. 500 million had already been spent through assembly members, but this process was temporarily halted following the court’s ruling.
Now, under the new law, assembly members will once again have direct control over these funds and will decide the development schemes themselves. It is worth noting that even previously, funds were spent through assembly members — the difference is that earlier this was happening without any legal backing, whereas now it will occur under a formal legal framework.
Local representatives and civil society have described this step as a major blow to local democracy. According to them, the decision not only encourages the centralization of power but also increases the chances of corruption.
Although Azad Kashmir’s Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq had announced that the Assembly session would continue as long as tensions in the region remained, the session was adjourned on Thursday until May 8, shortly after the law on local government funds was passed.
Analysts say the coalition government used this serious situation to serve its political interests. They argue that although regional tensions persist, the members have won the “battle for funds” in the Assembly, at the cost of public representation and transparency.