Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) President Abdul Aleem Khan has vowed to address the deprivation faced by the people of Kashmir.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad alongside the new entrants, senior party leaders and former Azad Jammu and Kashmir prime minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, Aleem Khan welcomed the new members into the party.
Aleem Khan said he was committed to working for the welfare of the region and pledged to remove the hardships faced by Kashmiris.
He said the country had given him everything and added that it was his duty to leave behind a meaningful contribution through service to Pakistan.
Aleem Khan said on Friday the party would become stronger across Pakistan following the joining of new members.
He expressed hope that the inclusion of the new entrants would strengthen the IPP across the country. He welcomed Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, who announced his decision to join the party along with his group, as well as Ali Muhammad Yousaf, Nisar Abdali, Sardar Iftikhar Rashid and Taqdees Gilani.
Aleem Khan congratulated all those who joined the IPP and thanked the party leadership and workers for their efforts. He also congratulated Shehzad Aziz, Raja Mazhar Qayyum, Tahir Khokhar, Taqdees Gilani, Abdul Qadeer and other leaders on joining the party.
He said Azad Jammu and Kashmir was the heart of Pakistan and recalled Quaid-e-Azam's statement that Kashmir was Pakistan's jugular vein. He said Pakistan was incomplete without Kashmir and that region was as dear to the country as any other province.
Aleem Khan has termed Azad Jammu and Kashmir as Pakistan's most beautiful region and said that, if given the opportunity to form a government in Azad Kashmir, the IPP would carry out extensive development.
He said parties that had remained in power had failed to fulfil their manifestos and held them responsible for the region's present deprivation. He said the public should hold those parties accountable and urged the people of Kashmir to question those who had governed in the past.
Aleem Khan said young people should remain confident about their future, adding that it was bright.
Aleem Khan welcomes new political figures into the IPP and says the party aims to strengthen its position nationwide while promising development and accountability in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Aleem Khan pledges jobs for young people
IPP President Abdul Aleem Khan has pledged that his party will provide the best employment opportunities for young people if it comes to power in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
Addressing a public gathering, he criticised parties that had previously governed AJK, saying they had failed to fulfil the promises made in their election manifestos.
IPP vows to bring economic growth in AJK
Aleem Khan termed Azad Jammu and Kashmir as the "Switzerland of Pakistan" and said the region required basic facilities to support tourism. He said practical measures, rather than rhetoric, were needed to promote the tourism sector.
He said he had asked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to assign his other ministerial portfolios to someone else so that he could concentrate on the Ministry of Communications. According to Aleem Khan, the prime minister remarked that ministers rarely relinquish their portfolios.
Aleem Khan said he had assured the prime minister that the ministry's profit could rise from Rs400 billion to Rs500 billion within three years. He added that the target for the current year had been set at Rs200 billion.
He said there had not even been a public toilet on the route from Islamabad to Murree, describing it as evidence of the country's neglected tourism infrastructure. He added that work was under way on the Lyari Express project in Karachi and development schemes in Murree.
Aleem Khan said those who were capable of building successful businesses should apply the same commitment to serving the country.
Aleem Khan vows tourism push
Aleem Khan said that if Azad Jammu and Kashmir was placed on the path to prosperity, it could match Europe in terms of development.
Highlighting the importance of tourism, he said the sector could become a major source of income for the region. He said the party planned to construct an airport, roads and motorways to promote tourism in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Aleem Khan said decisions concerning Azad Jammu and Kashmir would be made within Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
He said the party would promote tourism across the region and ensure that every child in Azad Jammu and Kashmir received an education.
He said the parties that had remained in power three times were responsible for the region's deprivation.
The IPP president said the party had prepared a new agenda for the Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections.
He said politicians from different parties were free to join the IPP if they wished.
Aleem Khan said independent candidates in Gilgit-Baltistan did not want to sit in opposition and had also approached the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.
He said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz had announced that it would sit in opposition.
Referring to the Gilgit-Baltistan elections, Aleem Khan said the IPP had accepted the result, congratulated the winning side and secured 47,000 votes with strong candidates in the contest.
Former AJK PM questions electricity tariffs,
Former AJK prime minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas said he had also been part of the IPP team. He referred to the presence of 900,000 troops in Indian-administered Kashmir and said many Kashmiris regarded themselves as Pakistanis.
Tanveer Ilyas urges dialogue
He criticised recent political developments in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, questioned the basis for fixing electricity tariffs and said state institutions could not be built in such a manner. He added that public protests should be settled through dialogue.
IPP welcomes new entrants with verve
IPP has welcomed the new entrants to the party with verve.
Addressing the press conference, IPP stalwart Shoaib Siddiqui has said that Tanveer Ilyas will serve Azad Jammu and Kashmir as the prime minister in the future. He said that the IPP has emerged as the third biggest party in GB.
Party says new political support reflects confidence in Abdul Aleem Khan's leadership
Various political figures from Azad Jammu and Kashmir joined the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) at a ceremony attended by party president Abdul Aleem Khan.
Abdul Aleem Khan greeted the newly joined leaders by visiting each of them individually and shaking hands.
IPP welcomes Tanveer Ilyas and Azad Kashmir leaders into party
IPP leader Shoaib Siddiqui welcomed the inclusion of former Azad Jammu and Kashmir prime minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas and other leaders into the party.
Siddiqui said prosperity would be the party's destination and expressed confidence that, alongside IPP President Abdul Aleem Khan, the party would fulfil its vision for the development of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
He said the political leaders of Azad Kashmir had placed their trust in Abdul Aleem Khan's leadership and congratulated those who had joined the party.
Siddiqui said Sardar Tanveer Ilyas was not only a former prime minister but would also become the next prime minister of Azad Kashmir.
He said the party would work with Abdul Aleem Khan for the reconstruction and development of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and would honour the confidence shown by the people of the region.
Siddiqui also said the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party had emerged as the third-largest political party in Gilgit-Baltistan.
