Bureau Report
Muzaffarabad: Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, former AJK Prime Minister, MLA and the PPP’s presidential candidate in AJK, said the Pakistan Peoples Party represents a progressive vision of Pakistan. He described the country, as a nuclear power, as a pillar of peace and stability for the Muslim world. He credited Pakistan’s fight against terrorism and extremism, backed by the sacrifices of Benazir Bhutto, the armed forces and civilians, with frustrating the conspiracies of hegemonic forces.
Speaking to the media after meeting assembly members, former ministers and party wing workers at his residence, he said Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s nuclear programme, the 1973 Constitution and Kashmir policy remain a guarantee of Pakistan’s defence and future. He expressed confidence that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would become the country’s youngest Prime Minister and advance the cause of self-determination for Indian-occupied Kashmir. He also credited the political and military leadership for the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia-Türkiye trilateral agreement and cited Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos and the Israel-Iran ceasefire.
On the AJK government, Rathore said the opposition had given it ample opportunity but its actions suggested haste. He warned that the PPP would resist, inside and outside the Assembly, any move by Prime Minister Iftikhar Ali Gilani to undermine the previous government’s educational package. He urged a focus on good governance, merit, infrastructure and jobs rather than new controversies, cautioned that political victimisation could become a liability for the PML-N government, and called its 100-day reform programme detached from reality.
