Islamabad, September 04: Pakistan government on Friday briefed PoK leaders on its new self-governance and reforms package for the Northern Areas, part of Jammu and Kashmir currently under Islamabad’s occupation.
The briefing by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, held at the Foreign Office here, was aimed at taking the Kashmiri leaders on board for the ‘Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self Governance Order 2009’ in the wake of criticism by separatists like Yasin Malik of JKLF and main opposition PML-N.
The order envisages giving the Northern Areas “full internal autonomy” and changing the region’s name to Gilgit-Baltistan.
The Kashmiri leadership supported the government’s move after the briefing, Express 24/7 channel quoted its sources as saying.
Qureshi was quoted as saying by the channel that there was consensus among all political parties in Pakistan on the Kashmir issue.
Qureshi also claimed the “low turnout” in polls in Jammu and Kashmir showed that the people wanted the right of “self-determination”.
The package for the Northern Areas, unveiled recently by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, has been criticised by opposition parties, including the PML-N.
PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has said political parties were not taken on board by the government about the package.
Sharif said lasting peace could not be achieved in the region if the Kashmiri leadership is not included in efforts to resolve the Kashmir issue.
JKLF leader Yasin Malik has also said the Pakistan government approved the package without taking all stakeholders into confidence.
The chief United Jehad Council, a conglomerate of militant groups, Syed Salahuddin, too has criticised the Pakistan government’s move, saying Kashmiris would accept no plan that affected their unity.
–Agencies