Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday expressed his desire to become the Prime Minister of the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) if his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) wins the upcoming elections in the region. Former Pakistan PM said he wants to personally oversee its development
Sharif made the remarks during an election rally in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, ahead of the regional elections scheduled between July 27 and August 10.
Addressing supporters, Nawaz Sharif said Pakistan-occupied Kashmir was as important to him as his home province of Punjab and described it as his “second home”. “It is my second home. My ancestors migrated from Kashmir,” he said.
Sharif added that if the PML-N secures victory in the elections, he would ask Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to appoint him as the prime minister of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. “If my party wins, I will ask PM Shehbaz Sharif to make me the prime minister of Kashmir (PoK) so that I can personally oversee the region’s development,” he said.
Nawaz Sharif is the elder brother of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The elections in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir are expected to be held between July 27 and August 10.
The PML-N is contesting against the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which is currently its coalition partner in Pakistan’s federal government.
The elections come amid continuing unrest in the region, where the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC) has been leading protests against inflation, rising electricity tariffs and alleged elite privileges.
Last week, the JKJAAC suspended its proposed long march until July 21, giving the Pakistani government what it described as a final opportunity to address its demands.
The group, which has been outlawed by Pakistani authorities, has since renewed its call for a large-scale protest and announced that its long march towards Muzaffarabad would resume while sit-ins across the region continue.
India maintains that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable parts of the country.
New Delhi has consistently stated that Pakistan remains in illegal and forcible occupation of parts of these territories.
India has also lodged repeated protests against elections conducted in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan and does not recognise the legislative bodies established in these regions.