ISLAMABAD: In what appeared to be a severe violation of Azad Kashmir Act 1974, Minister for Kashmir Affairs Chaudhry Barjis Tahir took oath from members of the Kashmir Council.
According to the constitution, only Kashmir Council’s Chairman can take oath from members or hand over temporary control to the president of the state. Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif apparently violated the constitution of the state by giving powers to Minister for Kashmir Affairs Chaudhry Barjis Tahir.
According to 1974 Act, Pakistan’s prime minister is Chairman of the Kashmir Council and President of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir is its vice chairman. According to the Constitution, Minister of Kashmir Affairs is equivalent to Member of Kashmir Council and he can only participate in the meeting as a member.
Member Assembly and former member of Kashmir Council Sardar Sagheer, while speaking to Daily Times, said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif violated the Constitution by giving powers to minister Kashmir Affairs. He said a joke had been made of the Constitution by giving his powers to Minister for Kashmir Affairs.
Senior legal expert of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Raja Jabbar said that taking oath is a power of Chairman Kashmir Council and in case of any emergency, he could hand this power over to the vice chairman. He further said that earlier members could not take oath for several months due to unavailability of Chairman Kashmir Council and if powers were to be transferred, they were handed to AJK’s President as vice chairman of the Kashmir Council.