After Nawaz Sharif’s exit, POK Leaders Say Kashmiris May Rethink On Alignment With Pakistan

The Supreme Court of Pakistan’s landmark verdict to disqualify Nawaz Sharif from holding the office of Prime Minister on alleged charges of corruption, has led concerned heads of government in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan to warn that Kashmiris may have to rethink on whether or not to align with Pakistan in the future.

In the week gone by, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider and Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Hafiz Hafeez-ur-Rehman both blamed the Supreme Court as well as Pakistan’s armed forces for the dismissal of Nawaz Sharif. Prime Minister Farooq Haidar Khan said that after Nawaz Sharif's disqualification, “We will have to rethink if we want to be with Pakistan or which country we want to be a part of”.

Local media reported that both seemed to have “lost their senses” in their eagerness to prove their loyalty to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership. Prime Minister Raja Farooq said Kashmiris were uncertain about siding with Pakistan after Sharif's disqualification and did not hesitate to malign both the judiciary and military. He termed the Supreme Court verdict against Sharif as 'fixed' and a 'rebellion'. The criticism of the judiciary and the military by both of these leaders led leaders of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) to demand registration of cases against Raja and Rehman for making 'derogatory' comments’.

For the record, both Raja and Rehman maintained that Shairif’s dismissal has once again created “doctrine of necessity” and that the PML-N would not allow the democratic process in Pakistan to be derailed. They maintained that Sharif had taken initiatives to bring Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan into the national mainstream and ensured substantial increases in their respective development budget. ANI