PROFILE: From business affairs to state affairs

In the last week of February 2021, Sardar Tanveer Ilyas made his first public appearance in the political arena of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) at a rally in Rawalakot where he vowed among other things to snowball the popularity of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to help it singlehandedly form the next government in the territory. And over the next one and a half years, he literally moved heaven and earth to translate his avowal by bringing many electables in the party’s folds at the strength of his personal relations and resources. When the party clinched victory, neither he nor any of the other probables were considered by PTI chairman Imran Khan for the coveted position of the AJK premier. Instead, Khan chose a minnow to the surprise rather shock of the entire parliamentary party which somehow resigned itself to his decision. Only 14 months after his first political engagement in AJK and nine months after the general elections, Lady Luck eventually smiled on Ilyas and he took the oath as 14th prime minister of the liberated territory on April 18 (Monday). 

Ilyas was born in 1974 to Sardar Ilyas Khan, the eldest of the seven sons of Sardar Muhammad Sharif of Bungoin village of Poonch district. His grandfather, a well-off landholder of his area, had also returned as a Basic Democracy member in the early sixties. Ilyas’ father went to Saudi Arabia at a young age to try his luck there and eventually rose from an ordinary position to the president of al-Tamimi group – a conglomerate of companies doing businesses in around nine sectors with over 25000 employees, almost 40 percent of them from Pakistan and AJK. Those who know Khan, who was awarded with Sitara-e-Pakistan in 2019 for his feats, say sedulousness, incorruptibility, loyalty and business wisdom helped him climb to the highest of positions in the business community. His personality traits have passed on to his three sons - Ilyas being the eldest one – which is why they set up their Sardar Group of Companies in Pakistan which has built among other things the wonderful shopping mall in the heart of Islamabad by the name of Centaurus. 

Huge business ventures notwithstanding, the family never severed its connection with politics. Sardar Saghir Chughtai, one of the paternal uncles of Tanveer Ilyas, became the AJK Council member in 2011 for five years. In 2016, Mr Chughtai contested Legislative Assembly elections from their native constituency on the ticket of Muslim Conference and became the MLA. Shortly before 2021 polls, Mr Chughtai who had also joined PTI at the persuasion of his nephew died in a tragic road accident in the territorial limits of Rawalpindi. Such was his popularity in the constituency that people returned his widow Shahida Saghir in the 2021 elections.  Ilyas grabbed electoral victory from the neighbouring Bagh district. Having earned business administration, law and journalism degrees before and during the management of family’s businesses, he was friends with prominent personalities of different walks of life, such as politicians, civil and military bureaucracy and media. In 2009, PML-Q leadership with whom he enjoyed a close personal relationship had got him nominated for a Senate seat even though he was not a member of their party. But he did not take part in the election due to the political uncertainty in the country. Ahead of the 2018 elections, he was appointed as a caretaker minister in the provincial Punjab government. He joined the PTI soon after the 2018 election and was made chairman Punjab Board of Investment and Trade in January 2019. Impressed by his entrepreneurial skills, Imran Khan asked the then Punjab chief minister Usman Buzdar to appoint Ilyas as his special assistant for investment related affairs. However, Khan wanted to test his abilities in AJK where the PTI had bagged just 2 seats in 2016 elections to the AJK Assembly. 2021 was the election year in AJK and while the PTI was gearing up to forcefully contest the polls, Khan tasked Ilyas to manipulate his strong tribal and personal connections in the territory to help the party “vanquish its political rivals” there. Sardar Murtaza, a confidant of Ilyas, asserts that his enthusiastic involvement in election campaign turned out a boon for the party, as he spared no effort to boost the morale of the activists and candidates across the territory as well as in the constituencies of Pakistan based Kashmiri refugees. "Resultantly the PTI emerged as a single largest party in the Assembly." Now when Ilyas is in the driving seat in AJK, Yasir Arif, an Islamabad based analyst, believes that he will exercise his expertise to bring a paradigm shift in this territory blessed with huge potential for skyrocketing progress but "devoid of visionary leadership." “The way he has raised his business empire in a short time, he surely will also raise the economic profile of AJK before long,” he claims. 

On Monday, when Ilyas was delivering his victory speech in the Assembly, in the Visitors’ Gallery were seated four generations of his family – his grandfather, parents, spouse and children - all with beaming faces. The dream had come true ahead of time, but together with the daunting challenge of ‘skilful management of state affairs’ from the successful management of business affairs. 

 

Tariq Naqash

 

Abdul Majeed Mallick laid to rest in Mirpur

Former Chief Justice of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) High Court and former president of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation League (JKLL) Abdul Majeed Mallick was laid to rest in the lakeside city of Mirpur on Wednesday.

Earlier, his funerals were attended by a large number of legal fraternity members, political workers and civil society activists, including AJK Prime Minister Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi and three of his predecessors, in the town's Quaid-e-Azam Stadium. 

A condolence reference was also held on the occasion, where speakers from different walks of life paid glowing tributes to the veteran leader for his qualities and contribution to the society as a celebrated jurist and a farsighted political leader. 

Terming Mr Mallick as an institution in himself, they said his unblemished character and commitment to cause will continue to offer guidance to the youngsters aspiring to join legal profession or politics. 

“Justice Abdul Majeed Mallick was an esteemed jurist and an insightful politician enjoying complete grip on all aspects of the longstanding issue of Jammu and Kashmir,” observed PM Niazi in his speech. 

He maintained that while as a judge Mr Mallick had delivered par excellence judgments in accordance with the law and constitution, as a devoted political figure he had religiously pursued his mission to ensure true democracy and good governance in AJK and freedom of occupied Kashmir.

“His services for the supremacy of law and justice as well as for the emancipation of our oppressed brethren across the divide will be remembered for long times to come,” Mr Niazi added.  

Others who spoke at the condolence reference were former prime ministers Chaudhry Abdul Majeed and Haji Yaqoob Khan, PPP regional president Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin, minister for local government and rural development Khawaja Farooq Ahmed, supreme court CJ Raja Saeed Akram, high court CJ Sadaqat Hussain Raja, former apex court CJs Azam Khan and Syed Manzoor Hussain Gillani, Manzoor Qadir of JKLL, Rafiq Dar of JKLF, Mahmood Saghar of APHC and former JIAJK chief Abdul Rashid Turabi in addition to several representatives and office bearers of different bodies of lawyers. 

Muslim Conference supreme leader Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, who was among the attendees, however declined to speak on the occasion, saying his time should be given to some other speaker. 

The AJK government had declared a holiday in all three districts of Mirpur division to allow 

Tariq Naqash

 

Former JKLL chief Abdul Majeed Mallick passes away

 

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) lost an eminent jurist and an intellectual in politics as retired justice Abdul Majeed Mallick bade adieu to this mortal world on Tuesday, plunging his family, friends and followers on both sides of the divide into gloom. 

Mr Mallick, who was 89 and a half years old, had been hospitalized in District Headquarters Hospital Mirpur about two weeks ago due to acute chest infection. Some four days ago, his family had brought him back home where he breathed his last at about 3pm.  

Born on September 15, 1932 in a suburban village of Dadyal, Mr Mallick chose a career in law and earned his LLB degree from Lahore. From 1956 to 1958, he practised law in Lahore but returned to Mirpur due to family’s relocation in the wake of Mangla Dam's construction.

In AJK, he was enthusiastically associated with the visionary Kashmiri leader Khurshid Hassan Khurshid aka K H Khurshid from a young age.

When Mr Khurshid launched his Jammu Kashmir Liberation League (JKLL) party in 1962, Mr Mallick was appointed its founding chief organizer. He became the party's secretary general in 1967 and held this position over the next 11 years. 

Since he was also an eminent practicing lawyer, he was inducted in the AJK High Court as a judge in May 1978 where he became the chief justice in August 1983, an office he held until his retirement in September 1994 on attaining the age of superannuation. 

As most of the JKLL workers would view him as the mirror image of Mr Khurshid, Mr Mallick took the reins of the party on their insistence from 1996 to 2020. 

From 2005 to 2010, Mr Mallick undertook around 10 visits to India and separately another four to India occupied Kashmir through Wagah border under track-II diplomacy and people-to-people contact initiatives. During these visits, he had addressed many events and met many important personalities. 

It was why social media was flooded with condolence messages from the Kashmiris not only from both sides of Jammu and Kashmir but also from UK, Europe, USA and Canada. 

“So sad to hear about him. May he rest in peace. My heartfelt condolences to his family,” tweeted Nayeema Ahmed Mehjoor, an author, broadcaster and journalist from Srinagar, currently living with children in London. 

Syed Nazir Gillani, chairman of the London based Jammu Kashmir Council for Human Rights, said that in the death of Mr Mallick the state of Jammu and Kashmir had lost a great son.  

“We have lost an unfailing and reliable friend. A courageous person and carried an overwhelming influence. A day of mourning. Allah bless his soul in heaven,” he tweeted.

On Facebook, former ambassador Arif Kamal wrote: “We lost a gem of the unfragmented state of Jammu-Kashmir. The man who held high the flag of our national emancipation.”

Apart from almost all heads of the AJK political parties and cabinet members, sitting and former judges of the AJK’s superior judiciary and legal fraternity members also paid glowing tributes to Mr Mallick for his services in the fields of law and politics. 

A fearless jurist who stood firm in his rulings and conviction had many bold judgments to his credit. 

In March 1993, he had taken everyone by shock when he held that Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), then referred to as Northern Areas, were part of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. In the landmark judgment, he had directed the central government to hand over GB’s administrative control to the AJK government. He directed the AJK government to take over control and give equal rights and representation to the GB people in all institutions of the state and establish the same institutions in GB. However, the judgement was not upheld by the apex court on the point of jurisdiction. 

“… his decisions in law books will keep him alive forever and his services for the judicial system will be a guideline for us… Historians will jot down your efforts for Kashmir cause in golden words,” said Syed Zulqarnain Raza Naqvi, an office bearer of the AJK High Court Bar Association. 

In order to pay him respects, the chief justices of AJK’s supreme and high courts announced suspension of judicial work in their respective courts on Wednesday while the AJK government declared a holiday on Wednesday in three districts of Mirpur division to facilitate the people to attend his funerals. 

Until early this year, Mr Mallick enjoyed good health with a surprisingly good memory and led an active life in the lakeside city of Mirpur, receiving visitors at his residence and attending events outside with regard to Kashmir issue.

In December last year, he launched his autobiography. On that occasion, he told this scribe that he had put together his personal observations and experiences which also included some controversies that had not come into the open to this day.

“I believe that a writer should be fair to his readers and set the record straight without bothering about the response,” he had said.

 

Tariq Naqash

وزیراعظم نیازی کو بھتیجے کی تقرری پر تنقید کا سامنا

 وزیراعظم آزادکشمیر سردار عبدالقیوم نیازی کے بھتیجے کی ان کے ہمراہ بطور پولیٹیکل سیکریڑی تقرری نے سوشل میڈیا پر ان کے خلاف حکمران تحریک انصاف کے بیشتر کارکنوں کی جانب سے تنقیدی تبصروں کے سیلاب کو دعوت دی ہے جن کا الزام ہے کہ وہ، یعنی وزیراعظم ، حکومت کو "خاندان اور دوستوں کی کمپنی" کے طور پر چلا رہے ہیں۔

یاد رہے کہ گذشتہ ہفتے نیازی نے اپنے چھوٹے بھائی کے وکیل فرزند سردار مطیب کو اپنا پولیٹکل سیکریڑی مقرر کیا جو اپنے چچا کے وزارت عظمیٰ کا حلف اٹھانے کے بعد سے ہی حکومتی معاملات چلانے میں سرگرم کردار ادا کررہے تھے۔ مطیب کے والد سردار حبیب ضیاء حال ہی میں ہائی کورٹ کے جج تعینات کئے گئے ہیں۔ 

مطیب کی تقرری سے قبل وزیراعظم نیازی نے اپنے سیکریٹریٹ میں اپنے آبائی حلقہ سے تعلق رکھنے والے حبیب احمد، منظر چغتائی اور وجاہت الیاس کی بالترتیب بطور پریس سیکریٹری، پریس اینڈ پبلیکیشن آفیسراور ناظم امور نوجوانان کے صوابدیدی عہدوں پرتقرری کی تھی۔ گو وزیراعظم کے دفتر میں مظفرآباد سے تعلق رکھنے والےمحسن علی اعوان کی بھی ناظم اعلیٰ کے صوابدیدی عہدے پر تقرری ہوئی ہے مگر اس کی وجہ اُن کی نیازی اور مطیب سے الیکشن سے قبل کی ذاتی قربت بتائی جاتی ہے۔

دلچسپ امر یہ ہے کہ وزارت عظمی کا حلف اٹھانے کے فوراً بعد ہی نیازی نے اپنے حلقہ اور برادری سے تعلق رکھنے والے ۲۵افراد کی کشمیر لیبریشن سیل کی صوابدیدی اسامیوں پر تقرری کی ایک ہی مکتوب میں منظوری دی تھی جس کے سوشل میڈیا پر شیئر ہونے پر بہت لے دے ہوئی تھی کہ کیا وہ ایک حلقہ کے وزیراعظم ہیں یا سارے آزادکشمیر کے؟

 سوشل میڈیا پر ہونے والے شورشرابے کے جواب میں ان کے دفتر نے تقرریوں کی ایک گول مول سی تردید کی تھی مگرکشمیر سیل کے ذرائع کے مطابق نہ صرف وہ تمام ۲۵ افراد اُسی دوران خاموشی سے تعینات ہوگئے تھے بلکہ بعد ازاں تقریبا مزید دس کو بھی پروانہ تقرری دیا گیا تھا جن میں کم از کم تین کا تعلق وزیراعظم کے حلقہ انتخاب سے ہے جبکہ باقی کا دیگر اضلاع سے۔ یہ افراد جو دفتر میں حاضری کے پابند نہیں ہر ماہ ۲۰ سے ۵۰ ہزار تک بالمقطع اعزازیہ حاصل کرتے ہیں۔

 واضح رہے کہ کشمیر لبریشن کو انیس سو اسی کی دھائی میں سردار سکندر حیات حکومت کے دور میں مسئلہ کشمیر کو ملکی و بین الاقوامی سطح پر اجاگر کرنے کیلئے قائم کیا گیا تھا۔ یہ ادارہ اپنے اخراجات "کشمیر سیس" نامی ٹیکس سے پورے کرتا ہے جو سرکاری خزانے سے دی جانے والی تمام تنخواہوں، تعمیراتی ٹھیکوں کی ادائیگیوں اور جائیداد کی خریدوفروخت کی آمدن پر لاگو ہوتا ہے۔ تاہم اس ادارے پر الزام ہے کہ اسے ہر حکومت نے اپنے کارکنان کو نوازنے کیلئے "دفترروزگار"  میں تبدیل کیا ہے۔ 

وزیراعظم کے حلقے سے ایک کے بعد دوسرے شخص کی ایڈجسٹمنٹ پر دلبرداشتہ پی ٹی آئی کارکنان  پولیٹیکل سیکریڑی کی تازہ ترین تقرری پر صبر کا دامن ہاتھ سے چھوڑ بیٹھے اور اپنا غم و غصہ سوشل میڈیا پر نکالا۔

جبار خان مغل آزادکشمیر میں تحریک انصاف کی طلباء تنظیم آئی ایس ایف کے کنوینر ہیں۔ انہوں نے سماجی رابطے کی معروف سائیٹ ٹویٹر پر ایک پوسٹ وزیراعظم عمران خان اور وفاقی وزیر اسد عمر کو ٹیگ کرتے ہوئے وزیراعظم نیازی کو یوں مخاطب کیا:

"رشتہ داروں سے باہر نکل کر بھمبر تا نیلم نظر دوڑائیں بہت قابل اور نظریاتی کارکنان مل جائیں گے جو ان عہدوں کے لئے موزوں ہیں۔ سیاست نہ ہماری روزی روٹی ہے، نہ ہی کمزوری اور نہ ہی عہدوں کی لالچ مگر اس طرح کے اقدامات کارکنان میں مایوسی کا باعث بن رہے ہیں،"

اس سے پہلی ٹویٹ میں جبار کا کہنا تھا کہ پاکستان تحریک انصاف کے نظریاتی کارکنان کا استحصال مسلسل جاری ہے جس پر قیادت، حکومتی ممبرز قانون ساز اسمبلی کی خاموشی سمجھ سے بالاتر ہے۔

 ""تابع خوشنودی کی آڑ میں ایک ہی خاندان ایک ہی علاقے کو نوازنا میرٹ نہیں بلکہ تحریک انصاف کے نظریے کی مکمل نفی ہے۔" "

جبار مغل نے یہی دونوں ٹویٹس اکٹھی کرکے اپنے فیس بک اکاونٹ سے بھی پوسٹ کیں جو آزادکشمیر میں ٹویٹر کی نسبت زیادہ مقبول ہے۔ وہاں ان کی پوسٹ کو تین سو سے زیادہ افراد نے پسند کیا اور لگ بھگ ایک سو سے زائد افراد نے تبصرے کرکے ان کے موقف کی تائید کی۔ 

دلچسپ امر یہ ہے کہ سوشل میڈیا پر متحرک آزادکشمیر کے پونچھ ضلع سے تعلق رکھنے والی  پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی کی جیالی فاطمہ انور سدوزئی نے بھی تحریک انصاف کے کارکنوں کی حمایت میں دو ٹویٹس لکھ ڈالیں۔ 

 سدوزئی کا کہنا تھا کہ وزیراعظم آزادکشمیر کی جانب سے کی جانے والی حالیہ تعیناتیاں جو کہ صرف اُن کے خاندان سے ہی ہیں پی ٹی آئی کے اُن کارکنوں کے حق میں ڈاکا ڈالنے کے مترادف ہیں جو کہ سالوں سے پارٹی کے لیے خدمات سرانجام دے رہے تھے۔سیاسی کارکن ہونے کے ناطے دوسرے سیاسی کارکن کی حق تلفی کی مذمت کرتی ہوں۔

 انہوں نے  یہ دعویٰ بھی کیا کہ ان" تعیناتیوں سے پی ٹی آئی کے کارکنوں میں بھی غم و غصہ پایا جاتا ہے اور اُن کو یہ محسوس ہو رہا ہے اُن کا استحصال کیا جارہا ہے۔ کچھ آوازیں بلند ہوئی ہیں لیکن اُن کو بھی خاموش کروایا جارہا ہے۔"

ایسا نہیں کہ صرف کارکنان وزیراعظم پر اپنے اہل خانہ کے ذریعے حکومت چلانے کا الزام لگاتے ہیں۔ کئی حکومتی ارکان اسمبلی کو بھی نجی محفلوں میں ایسا کہتے ہوئے اکثر سنا گیا ہے۔ 

مہاجرین مقیم پاکستان کی نشستوں سے منتخب ایک مشیر حکومت تو بعض اوقات عام تقاریب میں اس بات کا طنزاً ذکر اس دلچسپ اور بےساختہ انداز سے کرتے ہیں کہ محفل کشت زعفران بن جاتی ہے۔

تاہم وزیراعظم نیازی کے پریس سیکریٹری و ترجمان حبیب احمد ان الزامات کہ وزیراعظم نے صوابدیدی اسامیوں کی اکثریت پر اپنے حلقہ سے تعیناتیاں کی ہیں کو مخالفین کا بے بنیاد پروپگینڈہ قرار دے کر مسترد کرتے ہیں۔

اس نامہ نگار کے ایک سوال کے جواب میں انہوں نے زور دے کر کہا کہ کشمیر لبریشن سیل میں مختلف انتخابی حلقوں سے تعلق رکھنے والے افراد کو لگایا گیا ہے ۔ تاہم اِسی تحریری جواب میں انہوں نے ایک دلچسپ دعویٰ بھی کیا۔

ان کا کہنا تھا کہ وزیراعظم لبریشن سیل کو بھی سیاسی تقرریوں سے پاک کرنا چاہتے ہیں اور اس مقصد کیلئے اس ادارے کی تنظیم نو پر کام ہورہاہے۔ 

"ماضی میں کسی کو اتنی ہمت نہیں ہوئی، مگر وہ پرعزم ہیں۔ انشاءاللہ تنظیم نو کے بعد لبریشن سیل میں کوئی سیاسی تقرریاں نہیں کرسکے گا۔"

تاہم پریس سیکریٹری نے اس بات کا کوئی جواب نہ دیا کہ کیا ایک ہی ہلے میں لگائے گئے ۲۵ افراد بھی سیاسی تقرریوں میں شمار ہوتے ہیں یا نہیں

طارق نقاش   

 

 

 

Some AJK PTI leaders want PM Khan to host AJK parliamentary party meeting

Amid growing disquiet and discontent in the ranks of the nascent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), some of its senior members are reportedly trying hard to persuade Prime Minister Imran Khan to summon a parliamentary party meeting to help him have a first-hand information about their concerns and apprehensions, it has been reliably learnt. 

The efforts have picked up pace after the AJK Prime Minister, Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi, got released a flattering “analysis” from the Press Information Department (PID), showering lavish praise on him for his “political wisdom and achievements in a short span of time.”  

“Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi's popularity is on a constant rise and by taking farsighted decisions, revolutionary steps and people friendly policies he has given substance to his nomination by Imran Khan… His political acuity has landed opponents in deep waters and proved him a man of strong nerves,” claimed the press release.

Interestingly, a section of the vernacular press had an addition of some scornful remarks about Mr Niazi’s opponents in this PID fed analysis.

“The political acuity and sagacity of PM Niazi have frustrated the shenanigans of political pygmies within the PTI,” it said, without naming anyone. 

It however transpired later that this addition was made by an Islamabad based journalist belonging to Mr Niazi’s constituency - the only media person close to him.

 Sources claimed that the press release was issued to ward off growing resentment against Mr Niazi within the parliamentary party for several reasons. 

Background interviews by this scribe with some cabinet members on condition of anonymity revealed that most of them were unhappy with Mr Niazi for being “constantly ignored in affairs related to their respective portfolios.”

What had particularly ruffled their feathers were the frequent shuffling in top bureaucracy "without any consultation with them" as well as inductions against some important discretionary posts of persons who had allegedly opposed the PTI candidates during election campaign.

“People voted us to power to make good of the wrongdoings of the past, something we were also tasked with by [Imran] Khan Sahib from the day one. But, ironically, so far we have not been able to make substantial progress towards it due to lack of coordination with and cooperation from the office of the [AJK] prime minister,” fumed one cabinet member.

Another minister maintained that the AJK people had voted the PTI to run the affairs of government and not any “particular family.” 

“While the former prime minister was running the government through bureaucracy, the incumbent [Mr Niazi] is doing this through some of his close relations instead of the cabinet,” he alleged. 

“One kinsman [of PM] looks after the affairs of the south [of AJK] and the other of the north… They hold no official positions but are brazenly using official vehicles and making decisions,” he added.

More than five ministers this scribe spoke to confirmed that some senior party leaders had been trying to draw attention of the party chairman [PM Khan] towards the “sorry state of affairs in AJK.” 

They were of the view that Prime Minister Khan was not being fed with the actual information of the situation on the ground. 

Ever since the formation of government he had not held an exclusive meeting with AJK’s parliamentary party which had now become inevitable for the sake of party’s goodwill, they said, adding, the meeting was bound to help Mr Khan have a first-hand knowledge of the concerns and reservations of party lawmakers “as everyone would speak out his heart before him without any fear or favour.” 

When contacted by this scribe, minister for information and law, Sardar Faheem Akhtar Rabbani said every lawmaker could harbour a desire to hold a meeting with the party chairman and there was nothing wrong with it. 

“If they want the chairman to summon the parliamentary party meeting where they can present their viewpoint, they can convey this desire to him through party’s [regional president,” he said, referring to senior minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas. 

Mr Rabbani dismissed allegations that Mr Niazi was not taking ministers on board on official matters. 

“Look, the powers of the prime minister and ministers are defined in the statues. If anyone [minister] has any grievances, he should talk to the prime minister,” he maintained.  

It may be recalled that in December last year, some of the 17 PTI parliamentary party members, including 10 ministers and one adviser, had also expressed the same concerns with President Barrister Sultan Mahmood, which his office had cautiously touched upon in a press release issued after the get-together. 

On his part, President Mahmood had also expressed disaffection with the government’s performance by observing that neither could it create goodwill among the masses nor were the PTI workers satisfied with it.  

Interestingly, PTI’s regional president and senior minister Tanveer Ilyas was not invited by Mr Mahmood at that meeting, because both were at loggerheads with each other right from pre-election days.

  However, of late both have mended fences with each other and resolved to “jointly struggle for freedom of occupied Kashmir and betterment of governance in AJK.”

Interestingly, the opposition parties are enjoying the discord within the ruling party.

"Whatever and however hollow claims the PTI government may make in official handouts, its performance is dismal both in and outside the assembly... Their slip-ups amuse us," remarked Leader of the Opposition, Chaudhry Latif Akbar.

...Tariq Naqash