ISLAMABAD: Recently-joined Istihkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) leader and former Azad Jammu and Kashmir prime minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas has said that although people in Kashmir express strong affection for the Pakistan Army, they were compelled to block roads due to prevailing circumstances.
Speaking to the media, he said an event was arranged by the IPP in his honour for which he was grateful, adding that he had been part of the party from the beginning. He noted that he had earlier joined the Pakistan Peoples Party last year, adding that changing political affiliations was not a new practice in the country.
He said people in Punjab often raise questions about the situation in Kashmir, adding that under the presence of “900,000 occupying forces,” Kashmiris continue to assert that they are Pakistani. “Our people even kiss the vehicles of the Pakistan Army, but they were pushed to a point where they had to block roads,” he added.
Sardar Tanveer Ilyas further said that people in Azad Kashmir were frustrated with the system, adding that political issues would be addressed with the support of party leader Aleem Khan. He claimed that Azad Kashmir was effectively “shut down” and that citizens were staging sit-ins on highways.
He also said that the region joined Pakistan by choice and not by compulsion, and criticised what he described as political monopolies, saying people were not even allowed space to breathe in the political system.
He added that efforts were being made for political stability and that they had joined the party to work alongside Aleem Khan for this purpose.
