Petition update – People seek early AJK constitutional amendments: Pak Observer

Tuesday, August 05, 2014 – Mirpur (Ajk)—Centre for Peace, Development and Reforms (CPDR) AJK, a civil society organization, has started an online petition calling on the Governments of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to amend AJK constitution commonly known as Act 1974 and empower AJK Legislative Assembly by drastically reducing Kashmir Council’s administrative and financial authority to ensure democratic and transparent governance, it was officially declared.

Describing the petition as bipartisan initiative, Ershad Mahmud, Executive Director CPDR told reporters in an informal chat here late Sunday that over one thousand people have signed this e-petition within two weeks. The signatories including leading Kashmiri politicians, writers, journalists, academics, business people and students living in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan, Europe, United States and even in Australia. Prominent among the signatories included PML-N AJK President and leader of opposition in AJK legislative assembly and former Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan, Deputy Opposition leader in AJK LA and an ex minister Ch. Tariq Farooq, sitting AJK minister Ch. Latif Akber and Ms. Farzana Yaqoob besides several of other Members of the AJK Legislative Assembly including PML N’ Iftikhar Gilani, veteran columnist and writers, Haroon Rasheed, Rauf Klasara, Mushtaq Minhas, Saqhir Qamar, Altaf Hamid Rao, JKLF stalwart Raja Muzaffar, Research scholar Asma Khan Lone, vice president Jammat-e-Islami AJK Noorul Bari, Muslim Conference’s senior leader Fida Hussain Kayani, AJK business community leaders including Zulfiqar Abbasi, Azeem Mushtaq, AJK’s senior bureaucrates Shaukat Majeed Mallick, Akram Sohail, Javeed Ayoub and ex-Brig Shaukat Qadir are others. CPDR aims to have over 10,000 signatures within next three months to put pressure on the government, Ershad said.

6 Aug 2014 — http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=248938
Pakistan Observer, Islamabad
AH Rao