The race begins: PML-N leaders eye Gilgit-Baltistan governor slot

 May 16, 2013 A change in the government at the centre has brought forth many aspirants for the slot of Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) governor after regional chief of the victorious Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) hinted at sending the incumbent governor packing.  Hafizur Rahman expressed his desire to replace the existing governor with one from PML-N a day after his party emerged as the largest force in the May 11 polls. The shift of power at the centre is bound to affect G-B’s government as it is dependent on the federal government for funds and budget.  Presently, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is the ruling party in G-B, with Mehdi Shah the chief minister and Pir Karam Ali Shah the governor. “We will not accept an imported governor for G-B,” said Janbaz Khan of PML-N, who is currently the opposition leader in the G-B Assembly. “We have made sacrifices for the party, therefore we will not tolerate any cheating,” he said, indirectly proposing himself for the post.

Source: http://tribune.com.pk/story/549871/the-race-begins-pml-n-leaders-eye-gilgit-baltistan-governor-slot/

Constitutional rights: Polls rekindle hope for empowerment in AJK

 May 18, 2013

The recent elections in Pakistan have once again rekindled the hope for empowerment among the people of Azad Kashmir and reignited the debate among the political parties for review of relations between Muzaffarabad and Islamabad.

Opposition parties and constitutional experts in the disputed territory have reiterated their demand for more powers and representation in Pakistani parliament. The existing relationship between Muzaffarabad and Islamabad needs to be revisited and changed. This was the consensus view expressed by speakers at a book launching ceremony in Muzaffarabad on Thursday. “Islamabad should open the doors of its parliament to the people of Kashmir empowering them at national level,” Justice (retd) Manzoor Hussain Gilani, a noted jurist and constitutional expert, said while speaking at the launching ceremony of his book “Rozan-i-Khayal”. The book is a compilation of columns Justice Gilani contributed to national and regional newspapers. Justice Gilani stated that every constitutional issue relating to AJK, Interim Act 1974, judicial reforms system and the legislative assembly seats of Kashmiri refugees settled in Pakistan, has been discussed in detail in his book.

PML-N secretary and former speaker Shah Ghulam Qadir said that it is time to mention the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the constitution of Pakistan.

He added that due to these impediments, the people could not progress and must be removed. Turabi urged for a plan that would help make the people of Kashmir constitutionally powerful and help cement the relations with Islamabad.

Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Party Chairman Sardar Khalid Ibrahim said that it is time to highlight the genuine issues of Azad Kashmir aimed at reverting back powers to the state government and the people regarding the appointment of judges to the superior judiciary and establishing an independent AJK Election Commission.  The initiative, would help strengthen the relations between Muzaffarabad and Islamabad as there is no room for any mistrust, he concluded.

Source: http://tribune.com.pk/story/550814/constitutional-rights-polls-rekindle-hope-for-empowerment-in-ajk/

Delhi approves JK delegation goodwill visit to Pakistan

At a time when the relations between New Delhi and Islamabad have shown signs of a dramatic thaw in the wake of the recent elections in Pakistan, Government of India has approved a proposal to send a high level delegation, comprising members of Jammu and Kashmir legislature to Pakistan as a goodwill gesture.

A few months back, the presiding officers of both the houses, Chairman of Legislative Council Amrit Malhotra and the then Speaker of Legislative Assembly Muhammad Akbar Lone had forwarded a written proposal to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah seeking approval of a “good will delegation” of legislators to visit Pakistan.

The chief minister forwarded the proposal to Government of India for approval. Responding to it, sources said, New Delhi recently gave a nod to the proposal thus clearing the way for the delegation’s historical visit to Pakistan. After the clearance, the state law department asked the presiding officers of the Council and Assembly to furnish the names of at least three members, each from both lower and upper house, who would be part of this high-level delegation to visit Pakistan.

Apart from these six members, Chairman Legislative Council Amrit Malhotra, Speaker Mubarak Gul, Law Minister Saifullah Mir, Law Secretary Farhat Tasneem, Secretary Assembly Mohammad Ramzan and Secretary LC Mohammad Ashraf Mir would also be part of this delegation. “The visit is purely a good will gesture. It would also be a landmark visit as it would be the first visit of Kashmiri legislators in the recent time to Pakistan,” sources said. The approval of the visit also shows signs of change between the two countries. During the recently concluded election, the main parties in Pakistan including the supremo of PML (N) Nawaz Sharif have desisted from targeting India and expressed their willingness to improve the bilateral relations.

This led to warming of relations between the two arch rivals with the Indian premier, Manmohan Singh extending his good wishes to PML (N) for its victory and inviting Sharif to India. Political observers believe that both the countries want to re-start the stalled peace process and the visit by Kashmiri legislators would be quite helpful since it would be a cozy pre-cursor for the thaw in the troubled relationship.

- See more at: http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2013/05/18/news/national/delhi-approves-jk-delegation-goodwill-visit-to-pakistan/#sthash.DeyPd7Df.dpuf