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AJK prime minister summoned to explain 'anti-Pakistan' remarks
Tariq Naqash
August 18, 2017
Seven separate notices were issued to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider by the AJK Legislative Assembly's Secretariat on Friday asking him to appear before the Speaker of the AJK Assembly on August 28 to explain comments he made on July 29.
The notices were issued after opposition leaders filed references demanding Farooq's resignation for saying that he will have to have to "reconsider" if he wanted to "annex his fate with Pakistan" following the ouster of PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif from the prime minister's office. Haider belongs to the same party as Sharif.
“A reference has been submitted to the Legislative Assembly Speaker by Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin, leader of the opposition, under Section 25(2) of the AJK Interim Constitution Act, read with Section 5(2) of the AJK Legislative Assembly (Election) Ordinance 1970 […] You, Raja Muhammad Farooq Haider, Member Legislative Assembly (MLA) from LA-28, Muzaffarabad-V, are hereby informed to appear in person before the Speaker in his chamber at 1pm on Aug 28, 2017 to present clarifications on [your comments] along with documentary evidence,” read one of the notices, signed by Special Secretary Tariq Zia Abbasi.
Apart from Yasin, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's (PTI) lawmakers Abdul Majid Khan and Deevan Ghulam Mohiyuddin had filed a joint reference on August 4.
Muslim Conference president and MLA Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan and his party members, Syed Ghulam Murtaza Ali Gillani, Deevan Chughtai, Saqib Majeed Raja and Mir Attiqur Rehman, had also filed a separate reference each.
In their references, the opposition leaders took an almost identical stance that since the AJK Prime Minister has to swear allegiance to the ideology of (Kashmir’s) accession to Pakistan before entering office, “Haider has violated his oath both as an MLA and as prime minister after propagating against this ideology and impairing the cause of freedom-seeking Kashmiris.”
Haider landed himself in trouble when he addressed a joint presser with Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman at Kashmir House, Islamabad, after former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was disqualified by the Supreme Court on July 28.
After turning his guns towards PTI chief Imran Khan, Haider had controversially speculated on the future of Kashmir and Pakistan.
“Yesterday, he [Khan] said that I am going to build the Pakistan of the Quaid-e-Azam [Muhammad Ali Jinnah] and Allama Iqbal […] is this the Pakistan of Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal?”
“If this is the Pakistan that Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal [dreamed of], I will have to re-think, as a Kashmiri, [if] I should annex my fate with [this country].”
The press conference, which was reported by a section of print media the following day, raised a furore across the country, particularly because of its front page coverage by a major newspaper.
Haider’s office issued a clarification later the same day the remarks surfaced, saying that an English and an Urdu newspaper had quoted him “out of the context” and that he stood for the accession of the AJK state to Pakistan.
However, the clarification did not pacify opposition leaders, some of whom resorted to using harsh words against him on different TV channels and also brought his statements up in the parliament.
On July 31, Senator Sehar Kamran of PTI submitted an adjournment motion in the Upper House of Parliament, contending that the statement of the AJK PM was of vital significance to Pakistan’s 'national interest'.
The same day, Mian Khurram Jahangir Wattoo, a PPP lawmaker in Punjab, had tabled a resolution in the provincial assembly calling for Haider’s resignation.
PTI chief Imran Khan and Awami Muslim League head Sheikh Rashid called Haider several rude names and called upon the people of AJK to protest by besieging his residence in Muzaffarabad.
The duo's harsh language attracted a strong reaction from PML-N activists, and mainstream and social media were soon flush with critical comments from both sides.
Tariq Naqash
August 18, 2017
Seven separate notices were issued to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider by the AJK Legislative Assembly's Secretariat on Friday asking him to appear before the Speaker of the AJK Assembly on August 28 to explain comments he made on July 29.
The notices were issued after opposition leaders filed references demanding Farooq's resignation for saying that he will have to have to "reconsider" if he wanted to "annex his fate with Pakistan" following the ouster of PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif from the prime minister's office. Haider belongs to the same party as Sharif.
“A reference has been submitted to the Legislative Assembly Speaker by Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin, leader of the opposition, under Section 25(2) of the AJK Interim Constitution Act, read with Section 5(2) of the AJK Legislative Assembly (Election) Ordinance 1970 […] You, Raja Muhammad Farooq Haider, Member Legislative Assembly (MLA) from LA-28, Muzaffarabad-V, are hereby informed to appear in person before the Speaker in his chamber at 1pm on Aug 28, 2017 to present clarifications on [your comments] along with documentary evidence,” read one of the notices, signed by Special Secretary Tariq Zia Abbasi.
Apart from Yasin, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's (PTI) lawmakers Abdul Majid Khan and Deevan Ghulam Mohiyuddin had filed a joint reference on August 4.
Muslim Conference president and MLA Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan and his party members, Syed Ghulam Murtaza Ali Gillani, Deevan Chughtai, Saqib Majeed Raja and Mir Attiqur Rehman, had also filed a separate reference each.
In their references, the opposition leaders took an almost identical stance that since the AJK Prime Minister has to swear allegiance to the ideology of (Kashmir’s) accession to Pakistan before entering office, “Haider has violated his oath both as an MLA and as prime minister after propagating against this ideology and impairing the cause of freedom-seeking Kashmiris.”
Haider landed himself in trouble when he addressed a joint presser with Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman at Kashmir House, Islamabad, after former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was disqualified by the Supreme Court on July 28.
After turning his guns towards PTI chief Imran Khan, Haider had controversially speculated on the future of Kashmir and Pakistan.
“Yesterday, he [Khan] said that I am going to build the Pakistan of the Quaid-e-Azam [Muhammad Ali Jinnah] and Allama Iqbal […] is this the Pakistan of Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal?”
“If this is the Pakistan that Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal [dreamed of], I will have to re-think, as a Kashmiri, [if] I should annex my fate with [this country].”
The press conference, which was reported by a section of print media the following day, raised a furore across the country, particularly because of its front page coverage by a major newspaper.
Haider’s office issued a clarification later the same day the remarks surfaced, saying that an English and an Urdu newspaper had quoted him “out of the context” and that he stood for the accession of the AJK state to Pakistan.
However, the clarification did not pacify opposition leaders, some of whom resorted to using harsh words against him on different TV channels and also brought his statements up in the parliament.
On July 31, Senator Sehar Kamran of PTI submitted an adjournment motion in the Upper House of Parliament, contending that the statement of the AJK PM was of vital significance to Pakistan’s 'national interest'.
The same day, Mian Khurram Jahangir Wattoo, a PPP lawmaker in Punjab, had tabled a resolution in the provincial assembly calling for Haider’s resignation.
PTI chief Imran Khan and Awami Muslim League head Sheikh Rashid called Haider several rude names and called upon the people of AJK to protest by besieging his residence in Muzaffarabad.
The duo's harsh language attracted a strong reaction from PML-N activists, and mainstream and social media were soon flush with critical comments from both sides.
