LAHORE, Jul 22 : Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed his desire to become the prime minister of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Sharif, who is the chief of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, said this will help him "personally oversee" development of the region, where elections will be held between July 27 and August 10.
He made the remarks during an election rally in Muzaffarabad on Tuesday.
India maintains that the entire Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable parts of India. New Delhi also asserts that Pakistan has been in "illegal and forcible occupation" of parts of these Union Territories.
India has lodged several protests with Pakistan on polls held in PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan, and does not recognise the so-called legislative assemblies in these occupied regions.
Sharif, on Tuesday, asserted that PoK was as dear to him as his home province Punjab. "It is my second home. My ancestors migrated from Kashmir," he said.
"If my party wins, I will ask PM Shehbaz Sharif to make me the prime minister of Kashmir (PoK) so that I can personally oversee the region's development," said Nawaz Sharif, the elder brother of the Pakistan prime minister.
In the PoK polls, PML-N is contesting against the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which is its coalition partner in the federal government. (PTI)
