Latest news with #AzadJammuKashmir
Business Recorder
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Unequivocal support to Kashmiris' struggle: AJK President extends gratitude to Azerbaijan
MIRPUR: Azad Jammu Kashmir President Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry has expressed his profound gratitude to the people and the government of Azerbaijan for their steadfast support of Kashmiris' legitimate struggle for the right to self-determination. In an exclusive interview with Head of Media and Information Literacy Centre of Azerbaijan and Vice Rector of Tele-Radio Academy AZ Television Almaz Mahmood Nasibova at Jammu Kashmir House in the federal metropolis on Sunday, the AJK President expressed the optimism that Azerbaijan will continue to play its role to seek an early and amicable settlement of the lingering dispute in line with Kashmiris' wishes and aspirations. Terming India's imperialistic presence in the region as a threat to peace and stability in the region, Barrister Chaudhry said that India's illegal and forcible control over the territory poses an existential threat to Kashmiris, who he said have been fighting for the past several decades to achieve their birthright, guaranteed to them under multiple UNSC resolutions. 'The Kashmir issue is one of the unresolved issues pending on the UN agenda,' he said, adding that the lingering dispute has been the bone of contention between Pakistan and India. 'The threat of war will continue to loom over South Asia unless the Kashmir dispute is addressed in its historical perspective,' the president remarked. Barrister Chaudhry hailed Azerbaijan for its all-out support to Pakistan during the recent Pakistan-India tensions. He also praised the friendly countries, including the US, UK, Saudi Arabia, and other countries, for their significant role in diffusing tension in the region and facilitating a ceasefire between the two nuclear-armed nations. He said that India has miserably failed in its attempts aimed at tarnishing Pakistan's image at an international level under the guise of a false flag operation. He highlighted the Pakistan Army's significant contribution in defending the country's territorial sovereignty and delivering a crushing response to India, which he said has compelled the enemy to lick the dust and seek a ceasefire. He said that the people of Kashmir have welcomed US President Donald Trump's mediation offer. Describing Kashmiris as the main stakeholders in the Kashmir dispute, the president stressed holding tripartite talks and associating Kashmiri leadership in the decision-making process to find out a lasting solution to the Kashmir issue. The recent military standoff between the two countries, he said, has proved it beyond any reasonable doubt that the Kashmir issue is a flashpoint between the two nuclear powers. 'Unless the Kashmir issue is resolved in accordance with the UN resolutions, there can be no guarantee of lasting peace and security in South Asia,' he added. Given the volatile situation in the region, the president said that it was high time that the world community should come forward in a big way and play its much-needed role to help resolve the Kashmir dispute peacefully. Responding to a query, Barrister Chaudhry said that the literacy rate in Azad Kashmir is higher than in the four provinces of Pakistan. He also underscored the Kashmiri women's role in the development of the society.
Express Tribune
05-02-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
Polio vaccinators risk lives in freezing temperature to protect children
Listen to article Amid freezing temperatures, health workers in Azad Jammu Kashmir(AJK) are enduring harsh conditions to administer polio vaccinations following a surge in cases nationwide last year. Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan remain the only countries where polio is still endemic, with militants targeting vaccination teams and their security escorts for decades. On the first day of this year's annual polio vaccination campaign, a police officer guarding vaccinators in northwest Pakistan was killed by militants. The campaign is set to last one week. A health worker administers polio drops to a child during a door-to-door vaccination campaign amidst heavy snow in the Bakwali-Surgan area of Azad Jammu Kashmir's Neelum Valley, on February 4, 2025. Photo:AFP In Kashmir, health worker Manzoor Ahmad trudged through three feet of snow, braving temperatures as low as minus six degrees Celsius (21 degrees Fahrenheit) to deliver vaccinations. 'It's a mountainous, challenging area… we arrive for polio vaccination despite the snow,' said Ahmad, who leads the campaign in the region. Social worker Mehnaz, who has been assisting the vaccinators since 2018, highlighted the dangers posed by the extreme climate. 'We have no monthly salary… we come here despite glaciers and avalanches,' she told. 'We risk our lives and leave our children at home.' Health workers sit on snow during a polio vaccination drive in Azad Jammu Kashmir's Neelum Valley on February 4, 2025. Photo: AFP The challenge this year is greater, as Pakistan, with a population of 240 million, recorded at least 73 polio cases in 2024—an alarming increase from just six cases the previous year. In Surgan, located 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of Muzaffarabad, health workers aim to vaccinate around 1,700 children within the week. Our target is to vaccinate 750,000 children under five across the country with 4,000 teams visiting homes,' said Ahmad. 'There have been no polio cases in Kashmir for the last 24 years,' he added proudly. A health worker marks a child's finger after administering polio drops during a vaccination drive in Azad Jammu Kashmir's Neelum Valley on February 4, 2025. Photo: AFP Polio is easily preventable with an oral vaccine, but misinformation from some Islamic leaders, falsely claiming the vaccine contains pork or alcohol, has hindered progress. Despite these challenges, health workers continue their vital mission to protect children from the crippling disease.
