Federal Minister Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas (Kana) Major Tahir Iqbal (Retd) on Wednesday said the government would hire qualified professionals belonging to the Northern Areas (NAs) on contract for Tourism and Mineral Development Projects and capacity development in the NAs.
In an exclusive talk with the APP, the minister, who is also Chief Executive of the NA Legislative Council, said the government has been successful in maintaining the law and order situation in NAs during the past six months.
"Stringent measures are being taken to ensure that peace is maintained in future. I have asked the Advisors of NA Legislative Council to play a proactive role in this regard and establish linkages with the religious leaders of their respective sects," he said.
He said that since maintenance of law and order was a prerequisite to the progress and development, and anyone who creates law and order situation in the NAs would be dealt with iron hands. To a question, the minister said he had directed the Advisors, to set goals and targets for their respective departments and pursue them effectively and efficiently.
"I am aiming at establishing a Foolproof Governance System for smooth functioning of government in the Northern Areas in future. I have made it clear that any corruption or misappropriation of rules would not be tolerated and the elements responsible for any corrupt practice would be completely 'rooted out'," he said.
The Chief Executive further said that all the pending promotion cases in the NAs would be finalised within next two months and a coherent promotion and recruitment policy for future would be devised which would be strictly followed.
He said he had asked the Advisors to take full charge of their departments and perform their duties diligently for the welfare of their people. About reported complaints of NA government officials' non-co-operation to the elected representatives, the minister said that the administration mechanism in various departments of the Northern Areas would be streamlined and powers would be rightfully delegated to ensure proper functioning.
"I have also directed the Advisors to conduct regular briefings on each and every development project of their departments and maintain periodical reports on a regular basis," he said and added he had asked the Deputy Chief Executive and advisors to keep strict vigil on the prices in the NAs.
Tahir Iqbal said he would request Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to direct the respective authorities for opening of Utility Stores in each Tehsil Headquarters of the Northern Ares.
The minister strongly condemned the death sentence awarded to Afzal Guru, the Kashmiri Muslim youth who was sentenced to death by the Indian Supreme Court for allegedly plotting 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament.
"Such an extreme punishment to an alleged accuse who has pleaded 'Not-Guilty' is a violation of basic human rights and it would hurt the feelings of all the Kashmiri Muslims on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC)," he said.
However, he hoped that the clemency appeal by Afzal Guru's family would be accepted by the Indian President. He added that Government of Pakistan was closely examining the situation. "We expect that the matter would be resolved amicably and the death sentence to Afzal Guru would be pardoned by the Indian government as both the governments believe in safeguarding the human rights," he concluded.
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