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MUZAFFARABAD:
Lawyer Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry, President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), died at the age of 71 following a prolonged illness.
According to a statement issued by the media office of the Pakistan People’s Party, Chaudhry died in Islamabad.
His funeral prayers will be offered on Sunday (today) at 4:00 p.m. at the Mirpur Cricket Stadium, after which he will be laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard in Chichiyan. President Chaudhry, one of the leading advocates of the right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination, born on 9 August 1955 in Chichiyan, Mirpur in AJK.
He did his early education in his native village, completed his matriculation from Cantt Public School, Rawalpindi and graduated from Gordon College Rawalpindi. He then traveled to the United Kingdom where he obtained a law degree (Bar-at-Law) from Lincoln’s Inn.
Chaudhry was first elected Prime Minister of AJK in 1996 and then became President in 2021.
During his political career, he was elected to the AJK Legislative Assembly from Mirpur nine times, establishing himself as one of the most enduring political figures in the region.
He remained affiliated with and served as president of several political parties, including the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation League, the Pakistan Azad Kashmir People’s Party and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Azad Kashmir. In 2021, he was elected president of AJK.
He played an important role in highlighting the issue of Jammu and Kashmir at the international level. He also led marches in London, in front of the United Nations headquarters in New York and in front of the Irish Parliament in Dublin.
Furthermore, he held numerous meetings in Islamabad with the ambassadors of European and Islamic countries to brief them about the Jammu and Kashmir conflict and ongoing human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
President Chaudhry was the only politician from AJK to visit IIOJK. During his visit to Srinagar, he also visited Lal Chowk and Pahalgam and met prominent political leaders including Syed Ali Gilani, Syed Shabbir Shah, Omar Abdullah, Mufti Saeed, Mehbooba Mufti, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik.
Since the 1980s, he remained actively engaged in an unprecedented struggle for the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people and continued his efforts to project the Kashmir issue to the world despite his illness. He was considered a popular and widely respected leader of AJK.
President Asif Ali Zardari expressed deep sadness over Chaudhry’s death and prayed that he receives “forgiveness and a high place in heaven”, according to a presidential statement.
The President also conveyed his sincere condolences to the bereaved family and described Chaudhry’s national and political services as “invaluable”.
Senate President Yousaf Raza Gilani also mourned the AJK president, calling him a “dignified and principled politician”.
He said Chaudhry played an important role in raising the Kashmir issue at the international level and his services would always be remembered.
Gilani added that Chaudhry’s political struggle would remain a “beacon for generations to come.” He also expressed his sympathies to the family.
National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq expressed grief over the loss, paying tribute to Chaudhry’s “distinguished political and social services, particularly his invaluable contributions in effectively highlighting the Kashmir cause at international forums”.
He said Chaudhry’s advocacy for the legitimate rights of the Kashmiri people would always be remembered.
