Annual Budget presented in the POK Legislative Assembly; BNF accuses Pakistan government of ‘double standards’; glacial outburst cause agricultural damage; APHC calls Pakistan to renew its Kashmir policy
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    • The Finance Minister of POK, Raja Nisar Ahmed presented the budget for the financial year 2008-08 in the POK Legislative Assembly on June 18. The budget worth Rs. 29.97 billion reportedly reflected a deficit of Rs 4.6 billion. It proposed to allocate Rs. 9.555 billion for development activities, which included foreign aid worth Rs. 800 million1.

    In other domestic developments, Muhammad Azam Khan Advocate, President of the POK Bar Association has been appointed as the Adhoc judge of the POK Supreme Court. The official announcement regarding Khan’s appointment was made in Mirpur on June 192.

    The Chairman of APHC, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq meanwhile, while talking to journalists at Islamabad airport on June 21 called on Islamabad to revisit its Kashmir policy in order to take into account the true aspirations of the Kashmir people. Mirwaiz was visiting Pakistan on Prime Minister Gilani’s invitation to exchange views on Kashmir3. The Balwaristan National Front (BNF) on its part accused the Pakistani government of practicing ‘double standards.’ BNF Chairperson, Abdul Hamid Khan in a telephonic address to a public gathering in Gahkuch on June 8, reportedly stated that the natives of Gilgit Baltistan were against the occupation of the region by Pakistan4. In a related development, a group of prominent leaders, speaking at a media forum in Islamabad, called for including Gilgit Baltistan in the POK to provide a fair representation for the people of the region in the POK Legislative Assembly5.

    A glacial outburst in Gulkin valley of Gojal, upper Hunza caused damage to agricultural crops and crippled the infrastructure in the affected areas6. The chief executive of the Northern Areas Legislative Assembly, Ghazanfar Ali Khan announced that the government would release funds to compensate the damage7. In other developments, the government of India issued directives to ban the broadcast of Pakistan and POK radio in the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch in Kashmir8.

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