Chaudhry Latif Akbar, a leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), has been elected as the speaker of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly on Saturday.
Following the vacancy created when former speaker Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq was elected as the territory’s prime minister, Chaudhry Latif Akbar secured the position of AJK assembly speaker after approximately one month.
Despite being in the minority within the house, the PPP leader garnered 19 votes and was declared elected. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Maqbool Gujar boycotted the election, leaving only legislators from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and PPP to cast their votes.
Chaudhry Latif Akbar, born on February 4, 1948, in a village in Muzaffarabad, holds an LLB degree from Peshawar University. His political career began in 1976 when he became the vice president of the Pakistan People’s Party in the Muzaffarabad district. He entered the AJK Legislative Assembly after the 1985 elections and has also served as the Leader of the Opposition in the AJK Assembly.
