Nawaz pledges airport, hospitals for Mirpur ahead of AJK elections

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Nawaz Sharif on Friday took aim at Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari while unveiling an ambitious development agenda for Azad Jammu and Kashmir, urging his political rival not to take election rhetoric personally and promising to replicate Punjab’s governance model in the region if his party is voted to power.

Addressing a massive election rally in Mirpur, around 258 kilometres from Muzaffarabad, alongside Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, he said political competition should remain healthy and free of personal hostility.

“Bilawal should not take political remarks personally. This is Kashmir, not Kashmore, and this is Mirpur, not Mirpurkhas,” he remarked in an apparent response to recent speeches made by the PPP chairman during his election campaign across AJK.

With just days remaining before polling, Nawaz sought to portray the PML-N as the party with the strongest development record in the region, pledging a “new era of development, prosperity and modern infrastructure” for AJK.

He said every major development project undertaken in the region under a future PML-N government would reflect the party’s vision, adding that his government would focus on modern transport, quality education, healthcare, urban infrastructure and public welfare.

“The people of Mirpur deserve the same standard of facilities available in Punjab,” Nawaz said. “If electric buses can run in Lahore and Islamabad, there is no reason why the people of AJK should be deprived of similar services.”

He pledged to personally supervise major development projects in AJK, saying the region’s future would remain one of his top priorities.

Nawaz also announced that every deserving student in AJK would be provided with a laptop to improve access to modern education and digital technology, describing youth empowerment as a central pillar of the party’s agenda.

Recalling his longstanding association with Mirpur, the former premier said he was delighted to return to the city after many years and praised the enthusiasm of the gathering, describing the affection of Mirpur’s people as unmatched.

Highlighting his party’s performance in previous governments, the former prime minister challenged political opponents to identify any administration that had carried out more development work in AJK than the PML-N.

“Wherever you see major development projects in Azad Kashmir, you will find the imprint of the PML-N,” he asserted.

CM Maryam, making one of her most prominent campaign appearances in AJK, described herself as a “daughter of Kashmir”, saying both her paternal and maternal grandparents belonged to the region.

“I consider myself Kashmiri by heart and soul,” she said. “Some people criticised me for saying this, but I am proud of my Kashmiri identity.”

Expressing concern over Mirpur’s civic infrastructure, Maryam said she was saddened by the deteriorating condition of roads and argued that Kashmiris, who had made immense contributions to Pakistan’s economy and development, deserved far better public facilities.

She announced that a future PML-N government in AJK would provide 10 modern electric buses for Mirpur and reiterated Nawaz’s pledge to establish an international-standard airport in the city.

“Nawaz Sharif has always honoured the promises he has made to the people,” she said.

The Punjab chief minister also promised to extend Punjab’s flagship welfare programmes to AJK, including modern hospitals, mobile healthcare services, free medicines delivered to households, ration cards, social protection schemes and other public welfare initiatives.

Without naming Bilawal, Maryam criticised rival political parties for making grand promises during election campaigns but shifting responsibility for governance to the federal government after coming into office.

She also claimed that many of the highways and roads used by supporters to reach the Mirpur rally had been constructed during previous PML-N governments.

Reaffirming the party’s election manifesto, Maryam said a PML-N government would ensure that the people of AJK enjoyed the same development opportunities and public services as citizens in Punjab.

Earlier, AJK PML-N President Shah Ghulam Qadir, Senior Vice-President Tariq Farooq and other party leaders addressed the gathering, urging voters to support the party in the upcoming Legislative Assembly elections and promising accelerated development across the region under a PML-N government.