AJK Council approves grant of fiscal concessions to hydropower projects.

ISLAMABAD, June 02, 2009 (Balochistan Times) -- The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council Wednesday passed three bills and approved grant of taxation and fiscal concessions to the hydropower projects and permission to four employees of AJ&K Council to perform Hajj. The meeting chaired here by Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani at the PM House approved the motions moved by the Minister Incharge AJ&K Council. These include grant of taxation and fiscal concessions to AJK hydropower projects as agreed by the Government of Pakistan with the sponsors; and permission to sponsor four employees of AJK Council to perform Hajj on Council expenses. The Council however deferred the motion regarding report and recommendations of the Committee constituted to review the Resource Distribution Formula between Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council and Azad Government of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The Council also passed three bills moved by Minister Incharge of AJ&K Council Qamar Zaman Kaira. These included; the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council Public Service Commission (Adaptation and Validation) (Amendment) Act, 2009, Trade Organizations Ordinance (Adaptation and Extension of Functions to Azad Jammu and Kashmir) (Amendment) Act, 2009, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council Universal Service Fund and the Research and Development Fund (Validation of Rules) Act, 2009. Earlier the House offered fateha for the martyrs who have laid down their lives in the heroic struggle for freedom in the Indian Held Kashmir and the Jawans of Pakistan Army who are fighting war against terrorism. The meeting was attended by President Azad Jammu Kashmir Raja Zulqarnian Khan, Prime Minister Sardar Muhammad Yaqub Khan, Minister for KANA Qamar Zaman Kaira, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Minister for Labour and Manpower Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, Minister of State for KANA Abdul Raziq Afridi, Advisor to Chairman Sardar Ghulam Sadiq Khan, Advisor to Chairman Ms Shazia Khatoon and members Ghulam Raza Shah Naqvi, Pervaiz Akhtar, Sardar Naseem Ahmed Sarfraz Khan, Raja Iftikhar Ayub, Sardar Farooq Sikandar and Hamid Khan.

(THROUGH ASIA PULSE)