LAHORE: PML-N Supremo Nawaz Sharif handed a comprehensive 100-day reform agenda to newly elected Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Syed Iftikhar Gillani during a meeting at Jati Umra on Sunday.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz, and newly-elected AJK Speaker Tariq Farooq were also present at the meeting, where the leadership formally congratulated the new premier.
Mr Sharif urged immediate implementation of the agenda to address public grievances in the health, education and infrastructure sectors and to set the territory on the path to development, along the lines of Punjab.
He said the time had come to translate electoral commitments into action and urged the AJK leadership to accelerate development across the region.
Tells newly-elected leaders to ‘emulate Punjab’, set territory on path to development
The elder Sharif stressed that essential public services, including healthcare, education, sanitation and reliable roads, were basic rights of the people of AJK and should also reach remote areas rather than remain confined to major urban centres.
He also emphasised creating employment, skills development and educational opportunities for young people, adding that progress on the 100-day reform plan should be regularly monitored to ensure its benefits reached common citizens.
PM Shehbaz reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to AJK’s socio-economic development and assured the provision of resources and administrative support for public welfare projects.
He urged the AJK government to ensure timely completion of ongoing development schemes and called for joint federal and regional efforts to build an economic strategy focused on job creation and youth development.
AJK PM Gillani and Speaker Farooq expressed gratitude to the party’s senior leadership for “their confidence” in them.
A day earlier, the AJK PM had assured the business community and students that his government would restore internet services at educational institutions and remove restrictions on road links with Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa within the next few days.
Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2026
