Formal Application for Role of Technocrat in AJK’s Legislative Assembly

Date of Application:        21 July 2016

Name:                                  Tanveer Ahmed s/o Khan Muhammad Rafique

 of Moza - Gurutta, P.O. Box - Hajiabad, Tehsil - Sehnsa, District - Kotli, AJK

State Subject Number:  2758/12 - Issued on 23/04/2012 by District Magistrate - Kotli AJK

Venue:                                  AJK Prime Minister's Secretariat and Assembly Secretariat - Muzaffarabad

Copies for:                          Prime Minister of AJK and Opposition Leader (Term 2016 – 2021)

Received by:

Comments and/or

Acknowledgement/s:

In 1919, according to Wikipedia, an American engineer by the name of William Henry Smith, usually takes credit for inventing the word ‘technocracy’ to describe, “The rule of the people made effective through the agency of their servants.

As a voluntary public servant of AJK (in particular and the State of J & K in general) since April 2005 - utilising my professional background in international journalism and British parliamentary correspondence - I have been consistently conducting public interest research on J & K’s outstanding ‘national question’ and public policy, on my own initiative and initially at my own expense, whereby I am now almost wholly funded by the public at large. I adhere to the basic characteristic of technocracy as using technical expertise to solve problems of society, not least by engaging in active citizenship.

This application is being made in this specific manner, precisely because there is no formal (transparent) procedure for acquiring this position. Previous incumbents have allegedly been given this seemingly passive role motivated by partisan political, economic or social considerations. I contend that the past 11 years and 3 months as a citizen journalist and independent researcher in this 5,134 sq. miles of territory, qualifies me on multiple counts as a citizen, ground-researched public policy expert, joint stakeholder, affectee and joint heir to the Title: The State of Jammu & Kashmir. Indeed, the geographical territory of AJK is a constituent part of the land bearing that title. I maintain the same rights and arguably a more diverse and globally relevant repertoire compared to all previous incumbents. 

A major motivation for making this public application is to ensure that our public understand that hard labour, dedicated focus, consistent public activity to create and collect relevant public data (in statistical form) in a sincere manner; provides dividends which the public can measure and monitor.

Additionally, in order to formally liaise with the International Community (for conflict resolution and international trade) in a publicly documented manner, it is imperative that as part of a public-wide consensus building exercise for constitutional reform, the relevant citizen(s) are equipped with the necessary protocol to actively engage.

It should be noted that soon after the inception of AJK on the 24^th of October 1947, an application for international recognition was made by our revolutionary government (War Council as it formally described itself) on the 3^rd of November 1947. Britain, USA, the Soviet Union (now Russia) and China were canvassed for recognition of AJK as an international entity via the Secretary General of the UN. However, this attempt to assert our legality was ignored and our constitutional status remains ambiguous to this day. Reference: Page 89 of Victoria Schofield’s ‘Kashmir in Conflict – India, Pakistan and the Unending War’ (I.B. Tauris - London & New York - 2000 & 2003).

Subject to a sustainable institutional mechanism being created by the Government of AJK, the necessary criteria to make a stronger bid during this 5 year tenure can be fulfilled. Indeed, the institution otherwise described as the AJK Legislative Assembly can genuinely evolve. Where public interest is quantified by the public and qualitatively translated by the representative legislators in the AJK Assembly. The latter having failed to legislate on our resources - amongst most other aspects of governance - to date.

Finally, as this ‘citizen’ has managed to navigate around all those societal compulsions which force individuals (and likewise politicians) to forsake public interest for family or personal aspirations, he is ideally equipped to tackle the dilemma of corresponding our abundant resources with appropriate management and control, by practically progressing with the OBM (Ownership-Building-Measures) concept that he introduced in 2011. This was referenced by a notable British academic and expert on South Asia at a Kashmir Conference hosted at the House of Lords in Britain.

I am willing to engage in a public signature campaign here in AJK, lobbying our expatriate community throughout the world including British parliamentarians who originate from AJK as well as seeking a majority vote in the AJK Legislative Assembly.

Signed

21^st of July 2016