Govt reiterates commitment to AJK agreement implementation

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Engineer Amir Muqam and Federal Minister Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry on Wednesday said the government remained committed to implementing the agreement reached with the Joint Public Action Committee in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

Addressing a press conference at the AJK Council alongside AJK ministers and senior officials, the federal ministers announced that an Implementation Committee had been formed to oversee the execution of the agreement. They said a regular meeting schedule had also been issued to review progress on all agreed points, and several meetings had already been held.

Members of the committee set up by the AJK government, including ministers Chaudhry Qasim Majeed and Diwan Ali Khan Chughtai, and the AJK chief secretary, were present on the occasion.

The ministers termed the absence of representatives of the Joint Public Action Committee from the meeting “regrettable”, but reiterated that dialogue would continue in the larger interest of the Kashmiri people.

They further said a separate legal committee had been constituted to address matters related to the return of refugees. Two meetings of the legal committee had been convened but could not achieve full participation, while the next meeting had been scheduled for the 26th.

Amir Muqam and Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry urged all stakeholders to demonstrate seriousness and responsibility, adding that progress on the agreement had accelerated during the tenure of the new AJK prime minister.

They added that the federal government was closely monitoring implementation of the agreement and that the prime minister of Pakistan was personally overseeing the process, directing authorities to resolve the problems of the Kashmiri people on a priority basis.