Azad Jammu Kashmir Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq on Saturday thanked the government of Pakistan for the release of Rs. 9.7 billion funds to the government of Azad Jammu Kashmir under the stipulated annual development program. “During his meeting with Federal Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar in Islamabad, the AJK PM said that the amount would be instrumental in spinning the wheel of development that had stopped owing to shortage of development funds”, a statement issued by PID AJK Saturday said. The statement continued by saying “With the release of this money, the wheel of development in the state which had stopped earlier will start again”, he said, adding that the release of funds would lead to a positive change in the infrastructure and economy of Azad Kashmir. Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq also discussed the financial problems of Azad Jammu and Kashmir with the Federal Minister and apprised him of his government’s efforts being made to increase the revenue at the local level. It may be recalled here that out of 28 billion rupees allocated for the annual development program, only 11 billion rupees were released before the incumbent prime minister, Chaudhary Anwar ul Haq, assumed the charge of the government in Azad Jammu Kashmir. The credit for this achievement certainly goes to Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq who worked day and night to solve the financial problems. Speaking on the occasion, Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar while welcoming Prime Minister Azad Kashmir Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq, assured the full support of the federal government for the construction and development of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. He said that the development of the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir was the first priority of the federal government. The Federal Minister, while sharing an overview of the country’s economic hardships, said that despite many challenges, the coalition government in the center was determined to stabilize the financial condition of the country. During the meeting, the AJK premier was accompanied by senior minister Colonel (retd) Waqar Noor, Government Minister Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, Chief Secretary Azad Jammu Kashmir Dr. Muhammad Usman Chachar, and Secretary Finance Ismatullah Shah, whereas the Federal Minister was assisted by Special Assistant Finance Tariq Mehmood Pasha, Chairman CBR and other senior officers of the Federal Ministry of Finance”, it added.