ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari this week rejected the regional election in the internationally disputed Jammu and Kashmir region administered by India, calling on the international community to hold New Delhi accountable for alleged international rights violations in the area.
The three-phased regional election started in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, with voters casting their ballots for the first time in a decade and in a new political setting after the Indian government stripped the region of its autonomy.
The election will be held in stages until Oct. 1 to elect a 90-member local assembly instead of remaining under the direct rule of New Delhi. The result will be announced on Oct. 8.
“President Asif Ali Zardari has categorically rejected the election for the Legislative Assembly of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, asserting that these polls are no substitute for Kashmiris’ right to self-determination,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Wednesday.
Indian-administered Kashmir is part of the larger Kashmiri territory, which has been the subject of international dispute since the 1947 partition of the Indian subcontinent into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan.
Both countries claim Kashmir in full and rule in part. Indian-administered Kashmir has, for decades, witnessed outbreaks of separatist insurgencies to resist control from the government in New Delhi.
Speaking to a delegation of migrants from Indian-administered Kashmir, Zardari said such an election is unacceptable to the people of Kashmir and called upon the international community to hold the Modi government accountable for the alleged human rights violations in the area.
“He further urged the need to take concrete steps toward conducting a plebiscite in line with relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions,” the state broadcaster said.
Zardari reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to provide moral, political and diplomatic support to the people of Kashmir.
Indian-administered Kashmir has been without a local government since 2018 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party brought down a coalition government elected in 2014, forcing the assembly to dissolve.
A year later, Modi’s government repealed Article 370 of the Constitution, which granted the region its semi-autonomy and downgraded it from a state to a federally controlled territory.
Pakistan president rejects election in Indian-administered Kashmir
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Pakistan president rejects election in Indian-administered Kashmir
- Asif Ali Zardari calls on international community to hold India accountable for alleged rights violations in Kashmir
- Election will be held in stages until Oct. 1 to elect 90-member assembly to represent internationally disputed area
Pakistan denies canceling UAE deal, adds Islamabad airport to privatization plan
- Government refutes media reports of scrapped airport lease, says no such deal was ever concluded
- Pakistan says open bidding plan has no political or diplomatic basis and is driven by economic reasons
KARACHI: Pakistan on Saturday rejected media reports that it had canceled a proposed lease arrangement for the United Arab Emirates to run Islamabad airport, saying no such deal had ever been signed, while confirming that the aviation facility in the capital has been placed in the government’s active privatization program.
The statement followed media reports suggesting that Pakistan had abandoned a government-to-government arrangement with the UAE to outsource airport operations, citing delays by Abu Dhabi in nominating an operating entity and claiming that Pakistani authorities had inferred a loss of interest.
“The Privatization Commission has noticed some misleading reports that suggest ‘canceling of any proposed agreement for Islamabad International Airport’ and strongly refutes such reports,” the commission said in a statement.
“In this context, the claim that ‘Pakistan has canceled any lease agreement with the UAE’ is contrary to the facts and misleading, as no such agreement or lease was ever signed for any of the airports including Islamabad International Airport,” it added.
The statement said the government had decided in November last year to move away from a government-to-government framework and adopt an open bidding process for airport concessions after strong investor interest.
“This decision does not have any political or diplomatic background, and is based purely on economic and procedural reasons,” it said.
As part of that process, Islamabad International Airport has now been formally included in the active privatization program under a long-term concession model, aligning it with ongoing plans for airports in Karachi and Lahore.
The government said the competitive bidding process would provide a level playing field for domestic and international investors, including those from partner countries such as the UAE, as Pakistan seeks to modernize the aviation sector and attract private investment.
