'Extensive drive for reorganisation of AJKPPP starts'
By Altaf Hamid Rao - Pakistan Times Kashmir Bureau Chief

MIRPUR: An extensive drive has been launched for the reorganization of the Pakistan Peoples Party Azad Kashmir at the grassroots level for the sake of its stability and bringing in the party closer to the masses across AJK, disclosed Ch. Abdul Majeed, Member AJK Legislative Assembly and Central Senior Vice President of the PPPAJK.

Talking to newsmen here Sunday night he said that a team of front-ranking leaders of the party led by the party's President Sahibzada Ishaq Zaffar has launched the mass-contact campaign across Azad Jammu & Kashmir in order to promote the drive for new membership besides to gather the old and ideological party workers under the fold of the organization.

He said that during the campaign a schedule for holding the public rallies throughout the liberated territory as well in various parts of Pakistan where major number of Jammu & Kashmir refugees were inhibiting, has been chalked out.

Ch. Majeed, also Speaker of Azad Jammu Kashmir legislative Assembly, said that a grand public rally will be held in Mirpur soon after Eid ul Fitr which would be addressed by the party's stalwarts.

He added that the objective for holding the mass public contact campaign was aimed at not only to give strong footings to the party in Azad Kashmir besides initial preparations for next general elections but also to restore the unity and solidarity among the party's activists, he added.

Opposition not to take advantage of ongoing rift in MC

AJK former Speaker and sitting Opposition member Ch. Abdul Majeed has said that there was no political crisis in Azad Kashmir at present and the AJKPPP has no intention to take advantage of the reported ongoing differences in the parliamentary party of the ruling Muslim Conference.

"The reported rift in the parliamentary party of the ruling All Jammu Kashmir Muslin Conference could not be named as "crisis" in the existing successfully-going political system of the liberated area", Majeed said while addressing participants of the Iftar dinner hosted by him in honour of the journalists belonging to the national print and electronic media here Sunday night.

Top Peoples Party AJK leaders including advisor Shoukat Raja, former religious Affairs Minister S.M.Hamid Ali Bukhari, former Additional Advocate General Ch. Mushtaq Hussaqin Advocate, Qazi Asher ul Haq of AJKPPP Britain and Tabassam Sadiq Advocate were also present on this occasion.

Ch.Abdul Majeed, also the Central Senior Vice Chairman of AJK Chapter of Pakistan Peoples Party, continued that the ongoing differences in the parliamentary group of the ruling Muslim Conference was the internal affairs of that party.

Majeed out rightly declared that the PPP-AJK has no intention to take any illicit and unconstitutional benefit of the conflict in the ruling party's leadership, for the sake of power. He said that his party, the main opposition in the AJK Legislative Assembly, believed in strong and stable democratic system in Azad Kashmir and would strive hard to further strengthen and encourage the system. He said that it was the urgent need to further stabilize the existing democratic system in AJK going on since 1974.

Majeed said that his party has launched the enthusiastic initial preparation for the next general elections in Azad Kashmir scheduled to be held after about one year instead to taking illegal benefit of the existing tug of war for power in the parliamentary group of the ruling Muslim Conference, he added. He categorically declared that the ongoing democratic system in Azad Jammu Kashmir will not be allowed to be affected at any cost.

Referring to the existing process of accountability in Azad Kashmir, Majeed said that some amendments were required to be made in the AJK Ehtesab Act to ensure its transparency in letter and spirit. He observed that sine the existing Ehtesab Act in AJK was contrary to the human rights, therefore necessary amendments in the act was the urgent need of hour, he added. He said that the previous AJKPPP government was willing to promulgate the Ehtesab Act which was existing in Pakistan.

Referring to the Mangla Dam raising project, he said that the demands of the affectees of the project should be fulfilled in letter and spirit till their complete rehabilitation. Majeed said that it was imperative that a comprehensive strategy should be evolved for the rehabilitation of the affected families according to the needs of the modern age before launching the project.

The member AJK Assembly also called for stepping up the ongoing working for supply of Sui gas for bringing whole of the target areas of the district under its network to benefit maximum of the population of the natural gift. He also demanded for early establishment of the Medical College in Mirpur Azad Kashmir for the facility of the intending students hailing from Mirpur division besides rest of the country.●