Director General Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt-Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has said that the political system in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) is functioning and questioned how the state could manage to pay salaries and provide public facilities without collecting taxes.
The ISPR chief was responding to a student’s question about the violence-based politics being pursued by the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) in AJK. The exchange took place during a question-and-answer session with university students in AJK on September 15, but the video has only recently gone viral on social media.
Earlier, AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq had also exposed the real motives of JAAC in an interview with HUM News, describing it as a so-called civil society group exploiting the situation. He reminded that only two of their 38 demands had not been accepted. One of those demands sought to classify large commercial and industrial electricity consumers as domestic users, while the other called for abolishing the refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly — a move that undermines the international character of the Kashmir dispute.
Lt-Gen Chaudhry underlined that education, health, and infrastructure in AJK were comparatively far better than in many other parts of Pakistan. While highlighting the importance of tax collection, he pointed out that more than 30 percent of AJK’s population were government employees, including those serving in the military, and such financial responsibilities could not be met without proper revenue.
He said that while peaceful protest was a democratic right, violent politics brought no benefit to society and instead damaged the economy. He urged students to understand that destructive approaches only weaken the state and serve the interests of those hostile to Pakistan.
The ISPR DG stressed that nature had blessed AJK with abundant resources and reiterated the national resolve that the future of Kashmir is only with Pakistan. “Kashmir Will Become Pakistan,” he said, echoing a slogan that has been resonating on both sides of the Line of Control for the past 78 years.