ISLAMABAD: President of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) Abdul Aleem Khan on Friday pledged to address the long-standing grievances of the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), saying that quality education, improved civic infrastructure, and transparent governance would be among his party’s top priorities.
Addressing a press conference here, he said the IPP would ensure that all decisions relating to AJK were made in accordance with the aspirations of its people and vowed to honour every commitment made to the Kashmiri public.
He said that the long-standing grievances of the Kashmiri people would be addressed and practical measures would be taken to ensure that 100 percent of children in Azad Kashmir have access to education.
IPP President Abdul Aleem Khan further stated that the purpose of politics is not merely to attain power, but to provide people with essential public services, adding that meaningful change can only be achieved through practical action rather than rhetoric.
He said that if his party is given the opportunity to form the government, merit, transparency, and public service would be upheld at all costs. He also made it clear that if corruption occurred under his government’s tenure, he would personally accept responsibility for it.
He urged political parties and candidates to accept election results in a democratic spirit, demonstrating humility in victory and patience in defeat.
Abdul Aleem Khan said that parties which had remained in power for years were still responsible for the hardships faced by the people. He remarked that those who had governed the country two or even three times were now questioning others, whereas they should first be accountable for their own performance.
He praised the leadership of the Prime Minister, saying that the Prime Minister had never lost hope or panicked during difficult circumstances. Abdul Aleem Khan revealed that he had requested the Prime Minister to allow him to focus entirely on the Ministry of Communications so that Pakistan’s infrastructure could be modernized on a priority basis.
He said that construction of modern highways and motorways was progressing rapidly across the country. Road infrastructure projects are underway in Gilgit-Baltistan, while the Sukkur-Karachi Motorway is being connected to the country’s seaport, with work on the project scheduled to commence this year.
Abdul Aleem Khan further stated that the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway is being expanded from four to six lanes, while construction of the Lahore-Sialkot-Kharian-Islamabad Motorway is also in progress, reducing the travel distance between Lahore and Islamabad by approximately 100 kilometers.
He announced that the Islamabad-Murree Expressway would be extended to Muzaffarabad, while Muzaffarabad would also be connected to Mansehra through a modern highway. These projects, he said, would provide the people of Azad Kashmir with safer, faster, and more efficient transportation facilities.
President Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party Abdul Aleem Khan emphasized that Pakistan’s youth represent the country’s bright future and urged them to focus on education and hard work. He added that the people of South Punjab and interior Sindh had remained deprived of basic infrastructure for decades, noting that the Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway had remained pending for nearly thirty years.
Among those who joined the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party on the occasion were Dr. Sardar Zafar Iqbal (LA-25 Upper Neelum), Sardar Murtaza Ali Ahmad (Poonch), Sardar Abdul Jabbar Mughal (Constituency 4, Jhelum Valley), District Council Member Aamir Naeem, Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah (Kotli-Muzaffarabad), Councillor Shujaa Mangol Advocate, Chaudhry Abdul Qadeer Gujjar (LA-35), Sardar Sajjad Gul (Neelum), Chairman Haji Iftikhar Mughal, Chairman Faheem Mushtaq, Media Coordinator Raja Qamar Zaman, Party Spokesperson Sardar Mashal Younis, Syed Inam Gilani (Jhelum Valley), Councillor Khalid Mehmood, Councillor Nauman Usman, Hafiz Ahmad Butt (LA-42), Sardar Nazakat Minshad (Valley-3), Nauman Ali Chughtai, Asim Hameed, Farhan Anwar, and Naveed Chaudhry.
Also present on the occasion were G.G. Jamal, Gul Asghar Khan, Shahzad Aziz, Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan, Chaudhry Zaheer-ud-Din Khan, Makhdoom Tariq Mehmood-ul-Hassan, Raja Yawar Kamal, Sardar Ameer Haroon, Hamza Majeed Bazmi, Zulfiqar Ali, Malik Muhammad Yousaf, Ijaz Ahmad Khattana, Chaudhry Muhammad Maqbool, Muhammad Nadeem Khokhar, Chaudhry Waqar Nazir Advocate, Chaudhry Zulfiqar Noor, Ahsan Ahmad, Muhammad Irfan Chaudhry, Aoun Chaudhry, Rana Nazeer Ahmad Khan, Shoaib Siddiqui, Chaudhry Raoof Ahmad, Haroon Gul, and Mian Khalid Mehmood. Former Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir Sardar Tanveer Ilyas also attended the event, leading a delegation of political figures who joined the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party.
The delegation included Colonel Mehboob, Ali Khan Soni, Malik Zulfiqar, Sahiba Siddiq, Riaz Gujjar, Tahir Khokhar, Raja Talib, Murtaza Ali Ahmad, Jabbar Mughal, and Taqdees Gilani.