In Pakistani Kashmir
dozens of civil society activists staged a peaceful demonstration;
calling for much-needed reforms in region’s Interim Constitution Act “to
pave way for worthwhile democracy, good governance and uncompromising
accountability.”
The demonstration, held
in the wake of a row between the AJK Accountability Bureau and the AJK
Council, coincided with a controlled visit of Prime Minister Raja Pervez
Ashraf to the outskirts of Muzaffarabad for inspection of an
under-construction hydropower project. However, local media was not
invited to the event for fear of upsetting questions on its part.
The prime minister of
Pakistan happens to be the chairman of AJK Council, which is at the
centre of allegations of corruption and financial irregularities,
largely because of non-observance of codal formalities and pre-audit
checks in its expenditures.
“No to corrupt AJK
Council,” read one of the several placards carried by the demonstrators,
including lawyers, students, NGO workers, traders and journalists, as
they lined up along the capital’s bustling thoroughfare and later
marched through it and the adjacent magnificent district headquarters
complex.
The AJK Council, it may
be recalled, was established under the Interim Constitution Act 1974
apparently “to serve as a bridge between the governments in Muzaffarabad
and Islamabad.” However, over the years, officials and public in AJK
believe, it has turned itself into a parallel government, evading
scrutiny of its expenditures by investigating and accounting bodies of
Pakistan or AJK.
The main income source
of Council, which is vested with legislative, executive and financial
powers, is 20 per cent of the taxes generated from the AJK territory,
which it claims it spends on the administrative expenditure of its
secretariat in Islamabad, development activities (in Pakistan and AJK)
and other miscellaneous heads. Apart
from the 20 per cent of taxes, it has some other income sources as
well, including license fees from the cellular phone companies operating
in AJK.
It was the former AJK
Accountability Bureau chairman Justice Hussain Mazhar Kaleem, who had
dared summon record of some dubious contracts from the Council in the
wake of corruption complaints, but the Council officials did not comply
with his orders until the AJK government removed him on Friday allegedly
under the pressure of vested interests, fuelling anger among the
already charged civil society and political circles in AJK.
While calling for
abolition of Council and accountability of the Kashmiri taxpayers’ money
at its disposal, the demonstrators criticised what they termed as
lily-livered AJK rulers for bowing to the pressure of corrupt AJK
Council officials.
They also emphasised for long pending constitutional reforms to address such issues.
The interesting aspect
of the demonstration was the use of social media to attract its
participants, something unusual in this area where modern ICTs are not
so common.
Tariq
Naqash, a senior journalist, who created a group on Facebook, namely AJK
Civil Society Forum, said he was heartened to observe the response of
civil society to the posts on social media on the issue.
“It’s the first drop of
rain and I am sure the civil society in Aad Kashmir will play a pivotal
role in sensitising the decision makers and general public about the
issues of national concern,” he said.
Speaking to
correspondents on the occasion, Raza Ali Khan, President AJK Supreme
Court Bar Association, said the Interim Constitution had undermined the
status of the AJK government as it gave excessive executive and
legislative powers to the AJK Council over 52 subjects, including
taxation.
Mr Khan pointed out that
as chairman AJK Council the prime minister of Pakistan was exercising
full authority in AJK while he was neither answerable to the people nor
to the elected representatives of AJK.
“There is dire need of constitutional reforms to remove such anomalies.”
Abdul Qaiyum Khan, a
student, said if the federal government could devolve powers to
provinces, why AJK was not being treated in the same manner.
“Why our government is not being empowered? Why we are being made to feel as aliens?”
It may be recalled that
in the recent session of AJK Legislative Assembly, Prime Minister
Chaudhry Abdul Majeed had announced to work in consultation with all
parties for constitutional amendments. However, the government is yet to
make a serious effort to move ahead in this regard.
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