Talking to a group of journalists, the former AJK PM said ever since the present government took over, \u201cnot a single day had gone by when people had not suffered one or the other adversity at its hands\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk anyone in the liberated territory about their performance, and you will hear a torrent of complaints\u2026 And since they [government] themselves know the public sentiment and are anticipating an acceleration of anger at their deficiencies and infirmities, they have resorted to the promulgation of a black law to curb opposition and objection.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nIlyas says move shifted attention away from the \u2018controversial\u2019 decision of India\u2019s top court<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
According to him, the \u201cimpolitic move\u201d by the \u201cpower-hungry coalition government\u201d had diverted the attention of common people and media from the basic burning issue \u2014 the unlawful verdict of India\u2019s top court.<\/p>\n
\u201cFreedom of speech and expression is of the utmost importance in a truly democratic society. Any attempt to suppress this freedom under the cover of the so-called defamation is tantamount to serving the interests of the enemy,\u201d he maintained.<\/p>\n
He claimed that when he headed the AJK government, he had never taken offence to criticism.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn fact, I would tell people that they are free to critically evaluate or, if they like, appreciate the working of our government to help us bring improvement. We accepted criticism open-mindedly because I believe if you have faith in your ideas and goals, you should not be afraid of the candid opinions and observations of people,\u201d said Mr Ilyas.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly egomaniacal and self-serving rulers, who know that they are unable to come up to the expectations of commoners, take offence to criticism.\u201d<\/p>\n
The former AJK premier regretted that the coalition government was also afraid of holding assembly sessions, despite the fact that during his time, the sitting premier, with the help of the then opposition and his coalition partners, would drag the sessions to months.<\/p>\n
\u201cJammu and Kashmir is an issue of our life and death, and we owe our current status and stupendous privileges to the heroic struggle of our brothers and sisters across the divide,\u201d he said and added that the government should not have wrapped up the session in less than four days and instead should have continued it and subsequently allowed all lawmakers to comprehensively express their views on the Indian government\u2019s abominable acts vis-\u00e0-vis occupied Jammu and Kashmir.<\/p>\n
\u201c[T]hey should also have invited Islamabad-based foreign dignitaries and senior national and foreign media persons to witness and report the proceedings of the session.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paying tributes to the people of occupied Kashmir, he said there was no sign of diminution in their resolve for freedom from India.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever and however brute and illegitimate actions India may take, they will fail to subdue the valiant Kashmiris and eventually, India will have to quit the occupied territory,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2023<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MUZAFFARABAD: Former Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) prime minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas on Saturday censured the coalition government for trying to \u201cstifle dissent\u201d through a controversial law and called for its withdrawal. \u201cThe day when the entire Kashmiri nation was up in arms over the endorsement of Narendra Modi-led government\u2019s illegitimate and unilateral action of 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