MUZAFFARABAD: On Saturday, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas harshly criticised those who oppose a new tourism marketing organisation, branding them as enemies of the state’s growth and prosperity.
Early this week, rumours began to circulate that the government was considering creating a “tourism authority” and “special tourism zone(s)” through an amended piece of legislation, which would supersede some other laws or their provisions, such as the long-standing regulations for forest protection and the law governing mineral extrDespite the fact that the bill was not introduced during the recently adjourned Legislative Assembly session.
it received harsh criticism from civil society activists as well as opposition leaders Shah Ghulam Qadir, Raja Farooq Haider, Chaudhry Tariq Farooq, and Chaudhry Latif Akbar of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. However, PM Ilyas maintained that only those who were “inimical to the advancement and prosperity of the state” could oppose the [creation of] tourist authority, categorically contradicting the worries and apprehensions in a statement.”The effective utilisation of our abundant potential in the tourist, hydropower generating, and information technology (IT) sectors is essential to the freed territory’s genuine development and prosperity.
The benefits of these industries will accrue to the average person more as they are enhanced, he claimed.
The irony is that some professional [politicians] do not want to see the people of the state succeed. This calls for a non-traditional approach and innovative measures.
“However, times have changed and the successors [followers] of Imran Khan have assumed office [in AJK] to serve the people of the state,” PM Ilyas said. “Rather, they want the people to remain dependent on them and their personal fortunes swelled through the prevalent practise of dubious development schemes.
