chairman KNM daily times interview

Daily Times.

Monday, March 03, 2008

Kashmir Affairs Ministry urged to end nepotism

By Ibrahim Shahid

GILGIT: Chairman of the Karakurum National Movement (KNM) on Sunday demanded the Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas Ministry to stop nepotism and discrimination on political grounds in the Northern Areas Administration.Talking to Daily Times, Advocate Muhammad Iqbal said the ministry should not grant service extension officers of the Northern Areas Police against whom the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had registered cases.He said that some Northern Areas Police high ups, including a deputy inspector general (DIG), who had been involved in the illegal registration of vehicles were due to retire from the service. However, he added, that the ministry, with the collusion of a sitting advisor of the Northern Areas Legislative Assembly (NALA) was manoeuvring to extend these officers’ service.He said the extension of service beyond the retirement age of 60 years was a violation of the prescribed rules and regulations, which could not be tolerated.He said that the NAB was hearing cases against these corrupt police officers in Gilgit after the transfer of cases from Rawalpindi following presidential reforms introduced in Northern Areas.Iqbal complained that if the police officers were granted extension in service, the junior police officers whose promotion was due would suffer. He urged the Kashmir Affairs Ministry to stop developing such a trend in the region.He pointed out that the government rejected the service extension of some competent senior officers of the Northern Areas Administration. Yet, he added, the ministry was contemplating extending the service of some other officers purely on political grounds.Iqbal said that the oath of sitting members of the upgraded Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council as members of the Northernareas Legislative Assembly without an election to the Legislative Assembly was illegal. He explained that such an oath was in violation of the Northern Areas Governance Order, 1994, as well as the Constitution of Pakistan and other democratic norms prevailing through out the world.He urged the Federal Government to dissolve the upgraded assembly and to hold free and fair election for the Legislative Assembly to elect their representatives.
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