AJK President Sultan Mahmood dies at 71

Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry on Saturday passed away after protracted illness at the age of 71, Aaj News reported.

The AJK president’s media advisor, Kamal Haider confirmed the news of Sultan’s death in Islamabad.

The announcement of the president’s demise on his Facebook page mentioned that his funeral prayers will be offered on Sunday (tomorrow) at 4:00 PM at the Mirpur Cricket Stadium, AJK.

Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in separate statements have expressed deep sorrow and grief over the passing of the president of AJK.

They prayed to Allah Almighty for the forgiveness of the deceased and for him to be granted an exalted place in Jannah-tul-Firdous.

They also paid tribute to the deceased’s valuable national and political services and expressed his sympathies with the bereaved family.

Biography

Barrister Sultan Chaudhry was born on 9 August 1955 in Chechian, Mirpur. He received his early education in his ancestral village, completed his matriculation from Cantt Public School Rawalpindi, and graduated from Gordon College Rawalpindi, a detailed post on the deceased’s biography on his social media account read.

According to the statement, he subsequently moved to the United Kingdom for higher education, where he obtained his Bar-at-Law degree from the prestigious Lincoln’s Inn. Upon returning to his homeland in 1983, he commenced his practical political career.

Barrister Sultan served as the deputy opposition leader in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly alongside the former AJK president, Khurshid. In 1990, he was nominated for the presidency; however, he could not be elected at the time as he was one month short of the required age. He was later elected as the Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir in 1996.

Similarly, in 2001, he held the office of Leader of the Opposition in the AJK Legislative Assembly. He was elected as a Member of the Assembly from his ancestral constituency of Mirpur nine times. Over his career, he also served as the President of Azad Muslim Conference, Liberation League Azad Kashmir, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Azad Kashmir, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Azad Kashmir. He was elected as the president of Azad Kashmir in 2021.

Barrister Sultan highlighted the Kashmir issue aggressively and effectively on international forums. In addition to raising the Kashmir cause at the United Nations, the US State Department, and various international parliaments, he led numerous protests across the globe. He spearheaded significant ‘Million Marches’ at London’s Trafalgar Square, in front of the UN office in New York, before the European Union and European Parliament in Brussels, at the Irish Parliament in Dublin, and at the Berlin Wall.

On the diplomatic front, he held countless meetings with ambassadors of European and Islamic countries stationed in Islamabad, repeatedly briefing them on the Kashmir issue and ongoing Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir.

He held the unique distinction of being the only leader from Azad Kashmir to visit occupied Kashmir, where he addressed the Kashmiri public at Srinagar’s historic Lal Chowk. During his visit to Srinagar, he met with several Kashmiri leaders, including All Parties Hurriyat Conference Chairman Syed Ali Geelani, Shabbir Shah, and JKLF Chairman Yasin Malik. This visit remains of immense historical significance. He was unparalleled in projecting the Kashmir issue globally and was the only politician in Azad Kashmir who commanded popular support and a vote bank across every constituency of the region.