Iftikhar Gillani elected Azad Kashmir prime minister

MUZAFFARABAD: PML-N leader Barrister Syed Iftikhar Ali Gillani was elected prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Friday after securing 30 votes in the Legislative Assembly.

Gillani defeated Pakistan Peoples Party candidate Sardar Mukhtar Ahmed Abbasi, who received 14 votes.

A total of 44 lawmakers participated in the election. The AJK Assembly has 53 seats, but its current strength stands at 46 because elections for seven constituencies in Poonch and Sudhnoti districts have not yet been held.

Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Tariq Farooq did not vote, while PML-N regional president Shah Ghulam Qadir was absent from the proceedings.

After the vote count, Speaker Farooq formally announced Gillani as the new prime minister. Members and supporters in the galleries applauded the result and raised slogans in his support.

Gillani’s election came amid differences within the PML-N over the party’s choice for the top office. Qadir and former AJK prime minister Raja Farooq Haider had initially expressed reservations about his nomination.

The PML-N leadership announced Gillani’s nomination following a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister’s House in Islamabad on Wednesday night.

The meeting was attended by senior PML-N figures from AJK, including Shah Ghulam Qadir, Raja Farooq Haider, Chaudhry Tariq Farooq and Deputy Speaker Ahmed Raza Qadri. Rana Sanaullah and Saad Rafique were also present.

Gillani had been invited to the meeting but did not attend. During the meeting, Prime Minister Shehbaz reportedly conveyed that PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif had selected Gillani as the party’s candidate for the AJK premiership.

The decision initially caused disagreement among senior regional leaders. Qadir had indicated that he would stay away from the election, while further efforts were made to resolve the differences.

However, Haider later arrived at the Assembly with Gillani when the session began, while Qadir remained absent.

Gillani’s selection had been widely anticipated after he entered the AJK Assembly on a reserved seat on August 24.

Meanwhile, the recent AJK general elections were conducted in three phases because of security concerns and unrest in parts of the region. Polling took place on July 27, August 2 and August 10.

Elections in several constituencies of Poonch and Sudhnoti were postponed because of law and order concerns.

According to the available results, PML-N won 25 of the 38 directly contested seats, while the PPP secured 12. An elected member of the Awami Dast-o-Bazu party subsequently aligned with the PML-N.

On reserved seats, PML-N secured six seats and PPP won two.

The PPP, however, has rejected the election results and alleged widespread irregularities and rigging during the polling process.