Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif addressed a joint session of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Kashmir Day, and stated that resolution of all issues, including that of the Kashmir dispute, lay in dialogue.
“Difference of opinion between two countries is not unheard of,” Nawaz said, “what is unusual is that for 6-7 decades, we have not been able to get rid of these differences.”
“I brought this up with the Indian leadership and would like to reiterate that the solution to our problems lies in dialogue. Unless we sit together and talk about these issues, they won’t be resolved,” Nawaz said, adding that that he hoped the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue between Pakistan and India would see progress in the near future.
“Pakistan is most affected by terrorism. Who wants eradication of terrorism more than Pakistan?” he asked.
The prime minister emphasised the importance of development in Kashmir saying that “the benefits of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will reach AJK, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan, which are a big part of the CPEC. Development of roads and power projects has been planned to help end the power shortage and bring progress to these areas.”
He announced 250 million rupees for development projects in Azad Kashmir and said many hydro-electricity projects are also being initiated in AJK.
The Prime Minister said “we want to build a railway link from Islamabad to Muzaffarabad and a highway from Mirpur to Muzaffarabad”. He said a project to construct expressway from Murree to Muzaffarabad is also under consideration.
Commenting on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) employees‘ protest, Nawaz Sharif said the government is working for the improvement of the national flag carrier and would not succumb to unjustified protests.
“If there is a power shortage somewhere, it is a not a problem that we have created, but rather one that we have inherited,” he said.
AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed lauded Nawaz for taking a clear stance on Kashmir in the United Nations, Radio Pakistan reported.
