Kris Hopkins welcomes President Raja Zulqarnain Khan to Bradford

Bradford Council Leader Kris Hopkins has paid tribute to the President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir at a special reception held in the city’s Hilton Hotel.

Cllr Hopkins, also the Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Keighley, said he was delighted to be able to welcome President Raja Zulqarnain Khan to the district which he said, had “a very special bond with Azad Jammu and Kashmir.”

“A large number of residents of Azad Jammu and Kashmiri extraction live in the district with many making important contributions to Bradford’s social and economic well-being,” Cllr Hopkins said. “They have a well-deserved reputation for hard work and for being good, law-abiding citizens.”

44 year-old Cllr Hopkins, who lives in Keighey, said he was fully aware of the troubles that existed in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, “and I do not intend to seek to solve them here tonight.”

But he added: “I totally support the peaceful resolution of the territorial dispute through dialogue and mutual understanding. More specifically, I believe the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir must have the right to determine through own futures through free and fair elections.”

Cllr Hopkins told President Raja Zulqarnain Khan and the specially invited guests that, “despite the challenges it has had to face,” he knew from many friends in Bradford that Azad Jammu and Kashmir was, “a most beautiful place to be. It is also a place I would like to see for myself in the near future in order that I can understand more.”

He concluded: “Mr President, may I again say how pleased I am to see you in Bradford and I hope the next time we meet will be in Muzaffarabad itself.”

Cllr Hopkins was joined at the reception by a number of his Bradford Conservative colleagues including Cllr Mohammad Masood, whom he recently appointed to the Council’s Executive as Corporate Portfolio Holder.

Note to Editors

Kris Hopkins was elected Leader of Bradford Council in May 2006

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