MUZAFFARABAD(National Times)- Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Tariq Farooq has called for a broad-based consensus on the future of refugee seats in the assembly, urging political leaders to help resolve the current crisis through dialogue and reforms.
Speaking to journalists at the Speaker House on Thursday, Mr Farooq said political leaders had an opportunity to align themselves with national objectives and provide guidance by finding a way forward rather than dwelling on the past.
“Learning from mistakes is wisdom. We need to explore new avenues for the future,” he said, adding that he supported reforms in all institutions.
AJK could not progress with its large administrative structure and high expenditure, he said, while maintaining that the newly elected government, comprising young people, should be given an opportunity to move in the right direction.
Backs institutional reforms, says electricity and flour subsidies will continue
He also said subsidies on electricity and flour would not be withdrawn, though relief and concessions should be targeted on the basis of data.
Distinguishing between constitutional offices and the executive, he claimed that although power was influential, the assembly speaker was not part of the government, just as the state president was not. “The assembly is not the government; the cabinet and the prime minister constitute the government,” he said.
The government had been in office for only a few weeks, and the second phase of cabinet formation was still pending. It would be completed upon the return of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif to Pakistan, he said.
Mr Farooq said the government and cabinet had not been expanded because elections in seven constituencies of Poonch division were still pending. Without representation from these areas, he added, the government could not be considered complete and fully functional.
Poonch situation
Mr Farooq said informal negotiations were under way through the AJK president to improve law and order and ease tensions in Poonch. He expressed the hope that backchannel contacts would produce positive results and urged the media to avoid speculation until the talks yielded an outcome.
He accused the PPP of attempting to exploit the Poonch situation for political gain during its brief stint in power, adding that the phased elections had been held with the party’s consent.
The speaker said the state president and the entire political leadership should come forward to find solutions through dialogue. Political parties and their leaders had a responsibility to play an effective role, he said, adding that the process of rendering them irrelevant and ineffective had begun during the previous assembly.
Mr Farooq recalled that he and some other PML-N leaders had called for a fact-finding commission a year ago to examine the circumstances contributing to the current situation, but no political party had supported the proposal.
