MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore on Wednesday said transfers in government departments were carried out purely on administrative grounds, asserting that his government neither believed in nor practised vindictive transfers.
Addressing the Legislative Assembly, he said corrective action would be taken wherever violations of law or rules were found.
“I myself was part of the previous government, during which the highest number of additional charges were assigned. However, the present government will make transfers strictly on the basis of need and will not subject anyone to unnecessary or retaliatory action,” he said.
The prime minister announced that the Public Service Commission (PSC) board would be completed soon and that administrative shortcomings would be addressed promptly to improve public service delivery. Referring to traffic congestion in Muzaffarabad, he described it as a serious challenge and said a comprehensive strategy would be devised to regulate traffic in accordance with the law.
Govt would regulate crushing plants, ensure environmental clearance
He said he would personally look into the issue of an allegedly false FIR raised by a former prime minister in Bhimber and ensure timely action. On the health sector, he said the matter of ambulances was pending before an accountability court, adding that a committee was being formed to propose a workable solution within ten days. He also said tenders for the Hajira Bypass had been floated and work would commence shortly.
Earlier, Most Senior Minister Mian Abdul Waheed spoke on a condemnation resolution moved by Ms Imtiaz Naseem over the reported act of the Bihar chief minister pulling the hijab of a Muslim girl, terming it not merely an issue concerning Bihar but one affecting the entire Muslim Ummah. He said no religion had the right to ridicule another and urged the federal government to raise the matter at the international level.
Commenting on another condemnation resolution moved by Food Minister Javed Iqbal Budhanvi regarding the detention by India of a woman from the Nakyal sector who had inadvertently crossed the Line of Control, Mr Waheed termed the matter serious and said the resolution, along with a letter, would be sent to the federal government seeking her release and repatriation.
Responding to a query regarding the Bank of AJK, Finance and Inland Revenue Minister Chaudhry Qasim Majeed said the AJK government had provided Rs10 billion as equity to facilitate the bank’s conversion into a scheduled bank, after which the appointment of its president would be made in accordance with the law.
He said the Kashmir Council building in Islamabad had been notified for the bank’s office, while the software contract had also been awarded.
During discussion on a call-attention notice on the closure of crushing plants in the capital, Mr Waheed said the government would determine the terms of reference in the light of superior court judgments, while also considering environmental and economic aspects. Mr Majeed said environmental clearance should be mandatory for crushing plants, adding that land would not be leased where the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did not issue an NOC.
Hydropower Minister Chaudhry Rasheed said the Planning and Development Department had already conducted a study on the issue and that crushing parameters could be set in light of its findings. Mr Budhanvi said illegal crushing plants posed a serious threat to public health and must be shut down, also calling for a legislative committee to issue notices to such plants with approval of the EPA.
PML-N legislator Nisara Abbasi said unnecessary tree felling and crushing plants were damaging the environment and public health in the capital, stressing that crushing plants could not be justified merely on grounds of providing low-cost material.
Speaking on Ms Abbasi’s call-attention notice regarding doctors’ negligence, absenteeism and lack of facilities in hospitals, Health Minister Syed Bazil Ali Naqvi assured the House that doctors’ attendance in emergency wards, OPDs and other units would be strictly monitored. He urged lawmakers to point out issues in their constituencies, assuring that complaints would be addressed within 24 hours. Later, the House was prorogued sine die.
Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2025
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