Move to purchase new car for AJK president draws flak.

MUZAFFARABAD -- A decision by the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government to buy a new luxurious car worth over Rs100 million for President Barrister Sultan Mahmood has drawn flak from the civil society.

According to a services and general administration department (S and GAD) notification, the government had approved provision of an additional grant of Rs102.52 million in FY 2021-22 [...] and its advance withdrawal for purchase, including payment of local taxes and transportation charges, of a Mercedes Benz S500 4MATIC Sedan Long (RHD) car for the president.

Interestingly, the notification was issued the same day when four cabinet members had whined in a series of media talks about the 'adverse impact' of budget cuts by Islamabad on health, education and infrastructure development-related projects in AJK.

However, the notification triggered a slew of angry comments from people from different walks of life after it went viral on social media.

'While the president is not legally barred from buying an even expensive car, it does not behoove him to do so at a time when his party is crying hoarse about the budget cuts that it says will affect its plans to deliver in productive, social and development sectors,' tweeted Naila Altaf Kayani, a well-known Kashmiri analyst.

![](https://twitter.com/NylaKayani/status/1537443969398734850(

Saad Maqsood, a Saudi Arabia-based activist, wrote: 'In Pakistan they don't have money to consume even poison, but from Islamabad to Muzaffarabad, there is no end to the luxuries of the ruling elite.'

Pro-PTI activists called upon...