Daily Times

MIRPUR: Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi Thursday said that his  government  would extend full cooperation to the United Nations and its subsidiaries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the state. He was talking to a high level delegation which called on him under the leadership of  Julian Harness, Coordinator for Pakistan to the UN Resident and Florence Rowley, FAO Representative in the State metropolis.

Azad Kashmir Chief Secretary Shakeel Qadir Khan and other concerned officials were also present on the occasion. He said the government was taking concrete steps to achieve the targets of sustainable development in Azad Kashmir and added that Azad Kashmir was the most developed region of the country with a literacy rate of 77%.

He said the region had been polio free for last 21 years and its HDI was ahead of the rest of Pakistan. The prime minister said Azad Kashmir was facing environmental problems and changing natural course of rivers had led to environmental problems. He said Immediate steps were required to deal with these problems and strategies were being adopted to address the problems that had arisen due to diversion of rivers and also  to deal with the negative effects of these projects.

The prime minister said a comprehensive report was being prepared for this purpose which would be presented to the Prime Minister of Pakistan so that practical steps could be taken for permanent solution of environmental problems.

Speaking on the occasion, Julian Harris said that in order to achieve sustainable development in Azad Jammu Kashmir, the United Nations and its subsidiaries would work closely with the government of Azad Kashmir to ensure health, education, nutrition, social protection, gender equality, women’s empowerment within Azad Jammu Kashmir.