President AJK Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry on Thursday asked the election commission to redouble its efforts to hold local body elections in the State in line with the orders of Supreme Court of AJK.
The President said this while talking to Chief Election Commissioner AJK Justice (Retd.) Abdul Rashid Sulahria who called on him at President House in the State metropolis on Thursday. On the occasion, Chief Election Commissioner Justice (Retd.) Abdul Rashid Suhlaria while briefing the President said that the EC has also prepared the electoral rolls and completed the delimitation.
The Chief Election Commissioner also presented the annual performance report of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Election Commission to President Azad Jammu and Kashmir Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry. Members of Election Commission Farhat Ali Mir and Raja Farooq Niaz were also present on the occasion.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Muhammad Usman Chachar also called on president Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chudahry at Aiwan-e-Sadr Muzaffarabad. During the meeting, the duo discussed in detail the federal government’s decision to slash the region’s development funds in the upcoming budget. On the occasion, the chief secretary briefed the president about his recent meetings with Federal Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail, Minister for Development and Planning Ahsan Iqbal and Advisor to PM on Kashmir Affairs Qamar Zaman Kaira.
The CS told the President that the federal government was keen to solve the problems of Azad Kashmir. He said that due to financial constraints the central government was not in position to address the issue at the moment. He, however, maintained that the negotiations were still going on the matter.
A delegation of Central Press Club led by its President Syed Afaq Shah also called on President Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry at Aiwan-e-Sadr Muzaffarabad. The President CPC Syed Afaq Shah invited the President to visit the Press Club. The visiting delegation also apprised the President of the problems being faced by the journalist community. The president while praising the journalist community’s role in highlighting the issues of national importance assured the delegates that the government would resolve their (journalist’s) problems on priority basis.
