Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Iftikhar Gilani has announced a comprehensive tourism development plan for Leepa Valley and urged Kashmiris to reject elements promoting disorder, during a visit to the Line of Control (LoC) valley on Sunday. Addressing a large public gathering in Leepa on 8 November, he paid tribute to residents living along the LoC and pledged jobs, better health facilities and a tourism strategy for the remote valley.

Gilani, who travelled to Leepa Valley on 7 and 8 November, told the gathering that lasting stability required a progressive, tolerant and peaceful society, and that violence could not be justified even in pursuit of legitimate demands. He warned that disruptive activities were damaging the Kashmir freedom movement, and said the region's tradition of peaceful coexistence, mutual respect and tolerance had to be protected.

Tribute to LoC residents

The prime minister paid tribute to the people living along the LoC in Leepa Valley for their courage and resilience in the face of Indian shelling, saying cross-border firing had failed to weaken their determination. He also paid tribute to the Pakistan Army for its sacrifices in safeguarding the country's territorial integrity, particularly troops deployed along the LoC.

The tourism plan

Gilani announced plans to engage consultants to prepare a comprehensive tourism development strategy for Leepa Valley, and invited local residents to submit viable proposals for development projects. He pledged measures to create employment opportunities for unemployed youth in the valley, which lies about 83 kilometres from Muzaffarabad in Hattian Bala district, at an altitude of around 10,000 feet, and is known for its rice terraces, pine forests and wooden Kashmiri houses.

Health and jobs pledges

Alongside tourism, Gilani announced the phased upgradation of all basic health units and rural health centres in Leepa, and recruitment against government vacancies through a third-party mechanism within the next three months. He said the AJK government's constitutional responsibilities included developing the territory, projecting the Kashmir issue in its historical perspective and mobilising international support for the Kashmiri people's right to self-determination.

The Rawalakot backdrop

The visit came days after a security operation in Rawalakot on 5 November, when security forces moved against prolonged protest sit-ins around the bus terminal and other locations. Kashmir Times reported that three civilians were killed and 18 people injured, and the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee called for an independent investigation. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan urged the federal and AJK governments on 6 November to begin meaningful dialogue and allow independent media access to the region.

Gilani had visited Rawalakot himself on 3 November, two days before the operation, appealing for peace and acknowledging the difficulties caused by disruption to public movement. His Leepa address, with its emphasis on tolerance and its warning against disorder, was delivered against that tense background, and the tourism and health pledges will now be watched as a test of whether the AJK government can pair its development promises with a political opening.