AJK govt to supply surplus power to Pakistan, says PM

LAHORE - Prime Minister Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Yaqoob Khan has said that the occupied Kashmir issue would be resolved within next two years, as India is no more in a position to prolong it any more. He was speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday. LCCI President Mian Muzaffar Ali, Vice President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh and former Vice President Aftab Ahmad Vohra also spoke on the occasion. The Prime Minister said that India could not become Asian Tiger unless and until it withdraws its 0.8 million army from the occupied Kashmir. He predicted that India would disintegrate into six states if it failed to resolve the Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes of the people of Kashmir and international commitments. The Prime Minister, who spent well over an hour at the LCCI, spoke at length and presented a set of valuable and practicable proposals for investment in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. He said that five-year tax-holiday, exemplary law and order situation, business-friendly bureaucracy and easy market access were the opportunities that have no match in the entire world and should be availed by all the Pakistani businessmen. The Prime Minister said that AJK government would provide land on easy installments besides facilitating the investors in overcoming all bureaucratic hurdles. Sardar Yaqoob said that AJK has hydro-electricity potential of over 14,000 megawatt. He said already 1000 MW project has been initiated while work on another 1000 MW would start soon. Besides, he added, many small hydro-electric projects have been started by the AJK government from its own resources. All this electricity, he said, would be supplied to Pakistan as the electricity requirements of AJK are only 400 MW.

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