ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Engineer Amir Muqam on Monday said Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) general elections would be held on July 27, as scheduled, saying the people’s mandate would determine the region’s future leadership.
Muqam made the remarks while welcoming former AJK Legislative Assembly candidate Kamran Bashir Gorsi into the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Gorsi also announced his withdrawal from the LA-19 Poonch-II elections.
The minister said growing public support for the PML-N and its leadership, including former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, was evident across Azad Kashmir.
He said Poonch Division had played a historic role in Pakistan’s creation and national defense, paying tribute to the region’s martyrs and veterans. He also praised residents of border areas for demonstrating solidarity with Pakistan’s armed forces during the recent Pakistan-India tensions.
Paying tribute to the martyrs of July 13, 1931, Muqam reiterated Pakistan’s political, diplomatic and moral support for the people of Indian-administered Kashmir, saying their decades-long struggle for the right to self-determination would continue to receive Pakistan’s backing.
The minister added that the government remained committed to implementing agreements reached with the Public Action Committee, including measures related to subsidized electricity, and dismissed reports suggesting those agreements had been withdrawn.
Speaking on the occasion, Kamran Bashir Gorsi thanked the PML-N leadership for welcoming him into the party and formally announced his withdrawal from the LA-19 Poonch-II constituency in the upcoming AJK elections. –Agencies
