Letter to the Prime Minister: Will You Reform Yourself or Kashmir?

By: Naeem Masood

Oh, what a fine figure you cut, Mr. Prime Minister! But then again, so did your predecessor, and the one before him indeed, all of them.
I recall the privilege of conversing with you back when you held the portfolio of Education Minister. I also remember engaging with the current President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) when he was helming the Ministry of Health. Yet, how brightly you shone in those days as a rising star is not the catalyst for this letter. The true context the fore and aft of this piece is a pressing question: How will you fare now?
I am reminded of a conversation five or six months ago with the revered Chief Secretary. Accompanying me was my long-time companion, former Minister of State Chaudhry Jaffar Iqbal. Chaudhry Sahib carried the proud conviction that his old acquaintance with the Chief Secretary dated back to the latter’s days at the Capital Development Authority (CDA). But a niggling doubt nagged at me: if his pedigree stemmed from the CDA, what was one to truly expect?
The cause for my hesitation and a fluttering heart was Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s then-talk-of-the-town revelation: “There is no institution more difficult than the CDA; even if I need work done there, I have to shell out a million rupees to get it right.” Mind you, Naqvi Sarkar wields formidable authority over Islamabad, akin to the historic Rani Top cannon. Naturally, my good faith regarding the Chief Secretary crumbled into dust. My companion also held a reference from Federal Minister Amir Muqam, but that too proved futile. It was obvious to me: Chaudhry Jaffar Iqbal’s ties belong to deep political ideology, whereas Amir Muqam’s realm is purely pragmatic politics a continuous journey of political transformation spanning from General Musharraf and the Q-League all the way to the PML-N, devoid of ideological bonds.
Mr. Prime Minister!
We set off from Lahore driven by a legitimate grievance and a commitment to meritocracy. Perhaps, had our journey been fueled by an illegitimate motive, we might have emerged triumphant. We chose not to meet the then-Prime Minister of Pakistan, knowing it would be an exercise in futility—though a mutual benefactor did manage to whisper our aspirations into his ear. The Prime Minister’s Office responded with a sugar-coated pill. In Central Punjab, our contemporary idiom calls it “goli karana” (getting led on), whereas in political parlance, it translates to feeding someone a “sweet pill”a polite way of saying: much ado about nothing.
To cut a long story short: first and foremost, replace your viceroy. No matter how earnestly you strive for prosperity, true flourish will remain elusive until you rid yourself of the grand delusion of keeping “the fortunate ones” (Khushhal) in play. If Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz could defy the odds to place you at the helm of government, they can certainly liberate you from the remnants of the CDA legacy.
While you are at it, replace the previous setup’s Inspector General of Police as well. A leader’s own chosen team brings a synergy that a stale, borrowed lineup simply cannot match. As for the political heavyweights given their immense wealth and entrenched stature moving them would be like bringing a river of milk from the mountains (Juy-e-Sheer). There, noble patience is the only remedy, and so it shall remain.
Mr. Prime Minister Iftikhar Gillani!
You are no small-time Prime Minister. Therefore, do not treat nepotism and appointing extended family members within Muzaffarabad as a sacred duty. All of Kashmir is yours and by a special historical affinity, we consider Indian-Administered Kashmir to be yours as well. Your predecessor could never look beyond Muzaffarabad city, his own constituency, or the narrow lens of kinship. The side effects? He was not genuinely elected; he was merely installed.
We had once humbly requested former Prime Minister of Pakistan Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to advise his AJK’s PM that power is a fleeting four-day moon. We urged him to at least try aligning with merit occasionally, for the sake of his party and his own legacy. One must credit the PPP for not changing horses midstream based on daily whims like the PML-N though, admittedly, none of it ultimately favored the former Prime Minister!
Dervish that I am, how was I to know that the mantle of premiership would fall upon you? During a television broadcast on PTV, I had predicted Raja Farooq Haider, even as the rest of the panel deemed Shah Ghulam Qadir a guaranteed shoe-in. Yet, Almighty Allah willed it for you, and our goodwill towards you remains intact.
Kashmir possesses a distinct culture and a unique ethos. Since my student days, I have been a devoted follower of a great Gillani Syed Ali Shah Gillani. Now, all eyes are fixed on how “Nawaz Sharif’s Gillani” will treat the healthcare, education, development, and forestry of his people.
Lowering electricity tariffs alone will not suffice.
. Healthcare: Requires state-of-the-art modernization across medical teaching institutes and tertiary hospitals.
. Tourism: Demands a fresh surge of energy, while higher education urgently needs internationalization, consortium development, entrepreneurship, and interdisciplinary innovation.
. Economy: AJK requires a national industrial link seamlessly integrated with a thriving cultural industry.
. Governance: The Joint Action Committee requires meaningful satisfaction, while a young, inexperienced bureaucracy needs maturity tempered with ideological vision.
Higher education does not just need you; it needs your undivided vision and focus. You are, after all, foreign-qualified and a former Education Minister.
What we discern is that you, alongside newly elected AJK President Dr. Muhammad Najeeb Naqi Khan and Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Tariq Farooq, form an enlightened, sharp-minded triumvirate. To a discerning eye, this trio is compelling and potent a synthesis of rich tradition, modern education, and constructive governance. Together, you possess the capacity to drive sweeping reforms across the judiciary, technocracy, bureaucracy, employment, constitution-making, infrastructure, forestry, local government, and power sectors.
The public’s trust in you is palpably building. Now, trust your people, empower them, and bestow that confidence back upon them for that is the true essence of democracy and public utility. May God grant that the ideological resonance of this triumvirate reverberates all the way to the United Nations!

(Writer is an analyst and column Writer of Daily JANG)