Mirpur: President Azad Jammu and Kashmir Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry has said that after holding local government elections, power has been successfully transferred to the grassroots level in Azad Kashmir.
Barrister Chaudhry expressed these views while addressing an Iftar dinner hosted in his honour by District Council Chairman Raja Naveed Akhtar Goga here today.
Speaking on the occasion, the President said, “Holding the much delayed polls in the region was one of the promises I had made when I took oath of office”.
“Municipal elections have been held in Azad Kashmir after 32 years”, he said, adding that conducting local body polls was a long-standing demand of the people of Azad Kashmir, which now stands fulfilled. Reiterating his commitment to strengthen the local bodies, he said that the government would provide all possible support to the elected representatives so that they can be able to serve the people.
He expressed optimism that the people of Azad Kashmir would reap the fruits of local government in coming days.
Congratulating Raja Navid Akhtar Goga for being elected unopposed as Chairman of District Council from Mirpur district, Barrister Chaudhry said that this had happened for the first time in the history of local body elections in Azad Kashmir.
“This is for the first time in the history of local elections of Azad Kashmir that a head of the district council was elected unopposed “, he said. Extending his warm wishes to Mr. Goga, the president, expressed the hope that the newly elected Chairman and his team would work hard to meet the expectations of the public.
The president said that his second promise was to highlight the Kashmir issue effectively at international level.
Referring to his foreign visits, the president said that he held a series of important meetings during his visit to the United States, Great Britain, Europe, Turkey and the Middle East. The president said that he had the privilege of representing Kashmiris in the United Nations.
Hailing the Kashmiri diaspora community’s role, he said, “Emigres settled abroad have played an important role in highlighting the Kashmir cause at the global level”.
Government ministers, including Chaudhry Arshad Hussain, Chaudhry Azhar Sadiq, Chaudhry Maqbool Gujra, Chaudhry Yasir Sultan also spoke on the occasion.
Earlier, the president was accorded a warm welcome upon his arrival at Raja Navid Akhtar’s residence at Khari Sharif in Mirpur.
