Nawaz Sharif kicks off the election campaign

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Tuesday launched its election campaign for the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) polls, with Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz targeting the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), her party’s ally in the federal government, for failing to address the region’s problems despite her being in power there.

Addressing a public gathering in Muzaffarabad, Maryam vowed to replicate Punjab’s development model in AJK, announcing a package of welfare and infrastructure initiatives, including the introduction of electric buses, mobile hospitals and social protection schemes, while urging voters to choose the PML-N in the July 27 general election.

Announcing what she described as “gifts” to the people of Muzaffarabad, the Punjab chief minister said 10 green electric buses would be made available to the AJK capital, while 15 “hospitals on wheels” mobile hospitals would be launched to improve healthcare in remote areas.

“I am not here just to make promises. I am here to present our achievements over the last two years in Punjab,” she said, urging voters to compare PML-N’s governance record with that of its political rivals.

Maryam said she considered both AJK and IIOJK her home and described herself as a Kashmiri “by blood, by heart, by soul and by ancestry.”

“This is the city of my birth. Kashmir is our jugular vein. These valleys, these mountains and these brothers and sisters are mine,” she declared, paying tribute to Kashmir’s martyrs and reaffirming Pakistan’s support for the Kashmir cause.

She questioned why the much-awaited Kohala-Muzaffarabad expressway was yet to be completed and said the PML-N was committed to improving road infrastructure across AJK.

“If the people elect a PML-N government in AJK, we will change your destiny,” she said, adding that the developments in Punjab could be replicated in the region.

Referring to the public transport system introduced in Punjab, Maryam said that green electric buses had reached even the tehsil headquarters and similar projects would be implemented in AJK.

She criticized the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and asked why the party had failed to address public issues despite being in government in AJK.

“Some people have come here over the last few days and have been making speeches, airing grievances, making complaints and making accusations. I want to remind them in all sincerity who they are accusing. The government here is their own,” she said.

Without mentioning former Prime Minister Imran Khan directly, she also referred to his earlier remarks about the numerical strength of political parties in the 2021 polls and said the political realities had changed due to public support for the PML-N.

Highlighting Punjab’s welfare initiatives, Maryam said more than 400 children from AJK had received life-saving surgeries in Punjab’s hospitals. She added that over seven million people had received free medicines under the provincial health programme.

She said the Punjab government had launched doorstep delivery of government services through the “Maryam Ki Dastak” initiative, under which birth certificates and other official certificates were delivered to citizens at their homes. Similar government reforms, she said, would be introduced in AJK.

The Punjab Chief Minister also highlighted several social welfare programmes, including the Nawaz Sharif Rashan Card, under which deserving families receive monthly food assistance worth Rs3,000, and the Rehmat Card for widows, which provides annual financial assistance of Rs100,000.

She further announced that a “Himmat Card” would be introduced for persons with disabilities in AJK if the PML-N formed the next government.

Calling for greater economic opportunities, Maryam urged Prime Minister Shehbaz to extend interest-free loan schemes to AJK residents to promote entrepreneurship and employment.

She maintained that a strong Pakistan was essential for a strong AJK and said that the prosperity and stability of AJK was directly linked to Pakistan’s economic strength.

“Today the problems marring Kashmir are because of that mistake,” she said.

Reiterating that Kashmir and Pakistan shared “unbreakable bonds”, she said those who incited people to use sticks were “not friends”. “Nawaz Sharif and I want the youth to have laptops and degrees instead,” she added.

She urged people to elect their representatives after comparing the developments in PML-N-ruled regions with areas administered by other parties. Referring to her trip earlier in the day, she said development stalled where the Punjab government’s jurisdiction ended.

“In Punjab, where Nawaz Sharif’s government is in power, the moment the provincial borders end, everything changes. Roads disappear, cleanliness disappears, development disappears and public transport disappears. So what is the difference? The difference is Nawaz Sharif. The difference is Pakistan Muslim League-N,” she said.

She said that those whose own provinces had broken roads could not be expected to build roads in Azad Kashmir, while those who had failed to provide healthcare in their own provinces could not provide medical facilities to the people of AJK.

She also claimed that resources in these provinces were being lost due to corruption and questioned how such governments could ensure that the people of Azad Kashmir got their due rights. She urged people to vote wisely, adding: “This is not just a decision about your vote; it’s a decision about your destiny.”

In a political appeal to voters, Maryam said that whoever became the next prime minister of AJK, “the prime minister will have to adopt the development model of the Punjab government”, asserting that only the PML-N had the experience and capacity to deliver development projects.

She concluded by asking voters to support the PML-N in the upcoming elections and promised that the party would transform AJK through the same model of governance that she claimed had brought visible improvements to Punjab.

‘Azad Kashmir is as dear to me as Punjab’: Nawaz Sharif

Earlier, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif described the region as his second home and said it was as dear to him as Punjab.

“Azad Kashmir is as dear to me as Punjab,” Nawaz said, adding that there had been no discrimination in development projects across AJK, Gilgit-Baltistan and the four provinces.

The PML-N leader was accompanied by Maryam Nawaz and former AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider on the stage.

Expressing a deep emotional attachment to the region, Nawaz said that both AJK and Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) were part of his identity.
“AJK and IIOJK are my homes,” he said. “Kashmir is my home and the people of Kashmir are my own people.”

Expressing his desire to become the Prime Minister of AJK, Nawaz said he would request Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to appoint him to the post if his party won the upcoming elections in the region.

“If you vote for PML-N, I will come to AJK every three months and personally solve people’s problems,” he said.

Highlighting development projects in Punjab, Nawaz said similar initiatives would be introduced in AJK. He said he had directed Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz that development work being done in Punjab should also be replicated in Muzaffarabad and other parts of AJK.

“Once we win the AJK elections, we will bring every project here. Projects like those in Punjab will also be built in AJK,” he said, adding that highway projects would also be developed in the region.

Lamenting the lack of development in the area, Nawaz said that while the rest of the country saw the construction of expressways and highways, the road to Muzaffarabad remained unchanged.

He said his government had proposed to construct a highway from Mansehra to Muzaffarabad and then to Mirpur along the Jhelum river.

According to Nawaz, the highway would have spurred development in the region, leading to the construction of roads, hospitals, schools, colleges and universities.

The PML-N supremo said he had doubled AJK’s budget during his previous tenure as prime minister and promised to increase it tenfold if his party formed the government in the region.

“You know that Nawaz Sharif fulfills the promises he makes,” he said.

He also praised Prime Minister Shehbaz’s role in Punjab’s development and said Maryam was continuing these initiatives.

Nawaz announced that the Punjab government would provide 10 electric air-conditioned green buses to Muzaffarabad and said the buses would arrive within days.

He told the gathering that the buses were powered by electricity and equipped with air conditioning.

The PML-N supremo further said that 15 “hospitals on wheels” would soon be deployed across AJK to provide healthcare services to residents of remote areas who lacked access to medical facilities in their vicinity.

Nawaz said it was unfortunate that people in the valley had to carry sick patients on charpoy before transporting them to Islamabad for tertiary care. He said he had resumed development programs for the region and planned to introduce the mobile hospital concept to save lives.

Referring to the political history of the party, Nawaz said PML-N had been repeatedly removed from office despite delivering economic growth and development.

“We have suffered injustice many times. Every time our government was removed, those who came after hurt Pakistan and reversed the country’s progress,” he said.

The former prime minister maintained that the PML-N had a proven record of governance and development and asked voters to compare its achievements with those of its political opponents.

He concluded by assuring the audience that PML-N would bring modern transport, improved healthcare and sustained economic development to AJK and said the region deserved the same opportunities and public services enjoyed by the people of Punjab.

Maryam criticizes PPP for not solving problems despite being in government in AJKWhile addressing the assembly,