By Khaleeq Kiani in The Dawn, Dec 21 ISLAMABAD, Dec 20: Amid a controversy over expensive rental power projects, a $800 million foreign investment for cheap hydroelectric power generation is unlikely to materialise mainly because of bureaucratic wrangling, despite full support extended by federal and Azad Kashmir governments. This comes at a time when the federal government is finding it difficult to lure foreign investment to meet growing energy shortfalls and is approaching world capitals…
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ISLAMABAD – The 44th session of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council, under the chair of Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, gave approval to the AJK Council budget for year 2009-10 and revised estimates for the year 2008-09. Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo, who is also in charge of AJK Council, moved the bills before the council including the budget of the council for year 2009-10. The council also approved…
ISLAMABAD – Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan Syed Mehdi Shah called on Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani at the PM House on Saturday afternoon. The PM congratulated Syed Mehdi Shah on assuming office and hoped that the people of Gilgit-Baltistan would witness a new era of development and prosperity under his able leadership. He said the unanimous election of PPP candidates in G-B is a reflection of the Government’s firm commitment towards political reconciliation and politics…
By Tariq Naqash in The Dawn, Dec 17 MUZAFFARABAD, Dec 16: The ruling Muslim Conference (MC) here on Wednesday tabled a no-trust motion against Deputy Speaker Mohammad Salim Butt of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to elevate one of its female lawmaker to this office. The document seeking no-trust against Mr Butt under section 29 (8) of the AJK Interim Constitution (Act 1974) and rule 27 (1) of the Rules of Procedure was signed by…
ISLAMABAD: Kashmir Affairs Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira on Tuesday presented the Rs 6,755.55 million budget of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council for the fiscal year 2009-10. He also presented revised estimates of Rs 5,000.1 million for the year 2008-09. Presenting the second budget of the council for the year 2009-10, Kaira said salaries, allowances and pensions of employees of the AJK Council Secretariat had been increased. Moreover, presenting the current year’s budget, the minister…
By Farooq Ahmed in the Dawn GILGIT, Dec 11: Syed Mehdi Shah, the first Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, was administered oath of office by Acting Governor Qamar Zaman Kaira at a ceremony here on Friday. Members of the G-B Legislative Assembly, PPP leaders and senior civil, military and judiciary officials attended the ceremony. Talking to reporters, Mr Kaira stressed the importance of maintaining peace for prosperity and development of the region and urged people to…
By Farooq Ahmed in The Dawn, Dec 9 GILGIT, Dec 8: The Election Commission has notified membership of three technocrats and six women in the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly (GBLA) as the seats were distributed among political parties on proportionate basis. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rahim Nawaz Durrani told Dawn that Jamil Ahmed and Mutabiat Shah of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) while Maulana Sarwar Shah of Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) was notified as technocrats. However, PPP…
By Tariq Naqash in The Dawn, Dec6 MUZAFFARABAD, Dec 4: A high level meeting held here on Friday to settle the issue of mode of payments for execution of developmental schemes of the local government and rural development (LG&RD) department failed to arrive at a decision following serious differences among the participants, sources told Dawn. Sources said strong opposition of the incumbent LG&RD minister, Raja Naseer Ahmed Khan, to the enforcement of Assignment Account System…
By Tariq Naqash in The Dawn, Nov 22 MUZAFFARABAD, Nov 21: Three suspected militants blew themselves up after police and villagers gave a chase and surrounded them in a mountainous area here on Saturday. According to officials, police launched a search in a suburb of the Azad Kashmir capital after residents reported that three men had dumped a bag of weapons behind a house. Police and civil defence department officials found three Kalashnikovs along with…
The Dawn, Nov 22 LAHORE, Nov 21: Former Azad Kashmir prime minister Sardar Atiq Khan has said Kashmiri immigrants are not investing their liquid assets worth over £20 billion at home due to federal government’s policies. Making a presentation about the economic potential of Azad Jammu and Kashmir at a meeting of the Lahore Economic Journalists Association here on Saturday, he said the Kashmiri immigrants would willingly exploit the investment potential of their assets in…
by FAROOQ MOIN in The Nation, Nov 21 The writer is a freelance contributor The historic elections of the new Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly for ’empowerment’ and ‘self-governance’ would usher in all-round socio-economic development of the people of the region, thus fulfilling their long-standing aspirations. The elections would strengthen democracy, give identity to the people and accelerate the pace of development for which already substantial funds have been allocated. For the first time in the history…