PM Shehbaz announces to visit AJK to personally review ground situation

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif said that maintaining law and order there is the top priority of the government, announcing to visit Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) in the coming days to personally review the ground situation and promote the tendency of resolving issues at the dialogue table, ARY News reported.

Presiding over the federal cabinet, PM Shehbaz said that Kashmir is the jugular vein of Pakistan as declared by the founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

The prime minister said that the federal government, in consultation with all stakeholders, including President Asif Ali Zardari, Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, and others immediately, decided to meet all the demands of the people of valley.

He said the federal government already announced Rs 23 billion to fulfil the urgent needs of the people of AJK. The prime minister said that the protest has been called off.

PM Shehbaz also commended the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government for demonstrating restraint, foiling nefarious designs of the elements, who intend to sabotage the situation under the pretext of protests.

He also thanked President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Azad Kashmir as well as the leadership of AJK chapters of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) for their cooperation in resolving the issue amicably.

Read More: protestors calls off AJK protests after demands met

Earlier in the day, the Awami Joint Action Committee  announced to end ongoing protests in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) against soaring inflation a day after the government accepted their demands after several days of intense protests.

The committee, which had been spearheading demonstrations, called off protes after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced Rs23 billion subsidy package for the people of AJK.

“The government accepted all the demands of the protesters yesterday,” the AAC said in a statement.