MUZAFFARABAD(National Times)- PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif on Friday promised an international airport for Mirpur, the revival of Mansehra-Muzaffarabad-Mirpur motorway project, and a series of ‘gifts’ for Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), as he and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz made a final campaign push for party’s candidates hours before the electioneering ended for the Mirpur division polls.
But the pre-poll promises, and an apparent jibe at PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, was not received well by the PML-N’s coalition partner, whose leaders hit back at the elder Sharif, terming his remarks ‘frivolous’ and ‘ridiculous’.
Addressing a large public meeting in the lakeside city of Mirpur, the father-daughter duo repeatedly highlighted their Kashmiri roots and told supporters that AJK needed the same infrastructure and welfare-focused governance that had been introduced in Punjab.
Describing Kashmir as his “first home”, Mr Sharif said he shared a deep emotional bond with the region.
In an apparent swipe at the PPP chairman, Mr Sharif said Kashmir should not be mistaken for Kashmore, nor Mirpur for Mirpurkhas.
Mentioning Mr Bhutto-Zardari by name for the first time during his election campaign in AJK, he said: “Don’t take this the wrong way, Bilawal bhai. You are like a son to me.”
“Political sparring among parties should continue. There can even be some sharp exchanges, and that’s perfectly healthy. But there should be no fighting or violence.”
“We have come with a pledge that, God willing, we will change the destiny of Mirpur and all of Azad Kashmir,” he said, while asking successive governments in Pakistan and AJK what they had done for the region since his ouster.
He said the PML-N’s manifesto accorded priority to education and healthcare, promising new schools, colleges and universities as well as hospitals equipped with CT scanners and MRI facilities so that residents would not have to travel to Pakistan for treatment.
Nawaz also announced a gift of 10 ‘Hospitals on Wheels’ and as many electric green buses for Mirpur from the Punjab government.
He also pledged to dualise the Kotli-Nakyal road, construct tunnels at Lohar Gali and Leepa Valley in Muzaffarabad division, revive the long-stalled motorway project linking Mansehra, Muzaffarabad and Mirpur along the Jhelum River, and seek the establishment of an international airport in Mirpur.
Speaking after him, CM Maryam argued that AJK did not suffer from a lack of resources but from inadequate infrastructure, insufficient welfare programmes and poor governance.
She asked the audience who had built the Kohala-Muzaffarabad Road, the Murree-Kohala Road and cardiac hospitals, prompting chants of “Nawaz Sharif” from the crowd.
The Punjab CM pledged that welfare schemes introduced by the PML-N government in Punjab would be extended to AJK immediately after the elections, saying voters should support the party if they wanted development.
“The world will see a clean Azad Kashmir after the elections,” she said, urging people to “think carefully” before casting their ballots.
PPP hits back
The announcement of schemes for AJK, including the ‘gift’ of 10 e-buses, during the campaign did not go well with the PPP.
PPP-Parliamentarians Secretary General Nayyar Bukhari strongly criticised the PML-N leadership for gifting 10 electric buses, bearing CM Maryam’s images, to AJK during the election campaign and described the move as “political bribery”.
He demanded the chief election commissioner take immediate notice of the transfer of the buses.
Some PPP candidates for AJK Assembly elections, including Sardar Javed Ayub, Sardar Mukhtar Abbasi and Syed Bazil Ali Naqvi, also opposed the PML-N move.
Taking exception to Mr Sharif’s remarks about the PPP chief, AJK Legislative Assembly Speaker and PPP candidate Chaudhry Latif Akbar alleged a series of promises made by PML-N leaders during their election rallies constituted a violation of the election code of conduct, and called on the Election Commission to take strict notice. He told the presser the announcements amounted to an attempt to woo voters ahead of polls.
Taking exception to Mr Sharif’s light-hearted remark at a Muzaffarabad rally that he would ask Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to make the PML-N’s nominee the next prime minister of AJK, Mr Akbar quipped: “Nawaz Sharif’s own brother did not make him prime minister, yet he comes here and complains about it.”
Referring to Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz’s claims, Mr Akbar alleged the PML-N leadership was attempting to “buy Kashmiri votes” through pre-election promises.
Separately, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon hit back at Mr Sharif’s jibe, saying: “Do not make the land and people of Sindh and Kashmir a subject of ridicule and humour”.
Political differences have their place, but ridicule of any province, city or area is not acceptable under any circumstances, he said, terming the ex-PM’s remarks “not only frivolous but also ridiculous”.
