LAHORE, Jul 22 (APP):Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Tuesday announced a comprehensive package of development and welfare initiatives for Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), including the provision of 10 electric buses, 15 Clinics on Wheels, 2,000 scholarships and 5,000 laptops to improve transport, healthcare and educational opportunities in the region. Addressing a public gathering in Muzaffarabad, the chief minister said the electric buses would provide affordable and environment-friendly transport …
CM Maryam announces development support, youth package for AJK
LAHORE, Jul 22 (APP):Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Tuesday announced a comprehensive package of development and welfare initiatives for Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), including the provision of 10 electric buses, 15 Clinics on Wheels, 2,000 scholarships and 5,000 laptops to improve transport, healthcare and educational opportunities in the region.
Addressing a public gathering in Muzaffarabad, the chief minister said the electric buses would provide affordable and environment-friendly transport facilities, while the Clinics on Wheels would deliver healthcare services to people’s doorsteps, particularly in remote areas, said a handout issued here.
She said Punjab would also support AJK in education, skills development and youth empowerment through scholarships, laptops and vocational training programmes. Expressing confidence in the success of Punjab’s welfare initiatives, she hoped programmes such as Apni Chhat Apna Ghar, Himmat Card, concessional business loans and bottled drinking water projects could also be introduced in Azad Kashmir.
CM Maryam Nawaz stressed the need to upgrade the road infrastructure across AJK, saying roads should be developed from one end of the region to the other to improve connectivity and facilitate economic growth. She also announced that patients from Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan would benefit from the state-of-the-art cancer hospital currently under construction in Lahore.
Highlighting Punjab’s governance and development achievements, she said electric buses were now operating in 40 cities, government schools were being upgraded under the Nawaz Sharif Schools of Eminence initiative, and free medicines were being delivered to patients suffering from chronic diseases at their homes.
She also referred to flagship welfare programmes, including Apni Zameen Apna Ghar, Apni Chhat Mehfooz Chhat, Dhee Rani, Rehmat Card and interest-free business loans aimed at improving the quality of life of underprivileged families.
The CM said she shared a deep emotional bond with Kashmir and described herself as “a daughter of Kashmir,” adding that she could not visit the region empty-handed. She said Pakistan and Kashmir shared an enduring relationship and that a stronger and more prosperous Pakistan would further strengthen Kashmir.
Recalling her previous visits, Maryam Nawaz said she had observed a visible difference in cleanliness, development and public transport after crossing Punjab’s boundary near Murree, adding that sustained development had transformed Punjab and demonstrated what effective governance could achieve.
She said that quality education was the right of every child, regardless of financial status, and pledged to continue expanding educational opportunities while strengthening welfare programmes for persons with disabilities, widows, orphans and other vulnerable segments of society.
The CM said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz was committed to ensuring that the pace of development achieved in Punjab was replicated in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, adding that the party would continue to prioritize public welfare and honour its commitments to the people.
