By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Leaders of the Pakistan People’s Party are preparing to remove the prime minister of Azad Jammu Kashmir through a no-confidence motion and install one of their own, according to party sources, a step that could reshape the political landscape in the disputed Himalayan region amid lingering tensions from recent protests.
The party’s lawmakers from the region held separate meetings on Saturday with the party’s chairman, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, and President Asif Ali Zardari, to discuss options for ousting the incumbent prime minister, Chaudhry Anwarul Haq. Only a picture of Zardari’s meeting with the lawmakers was issued by Saturday night, while a handout issued by the PPP regarding the meeting with Bhutto-Zardari also did not mention the possibility of a no-confidence motion against the AJK premier.
The party leaders discussed the AJK’s “political situation” in the meeting, said the official statement. Sources within the party, however, said the discussions went further, with participants considering names for Haq’s successor. They said the PPP had “almost finalised” the decision to oust the AJK prime minister through a no-trust motion. A formal decision, according to sources, is likely in a day or two.
The insiders said the party leaders deliberated upon all possible options, including giving some time to the AJK prime minister for “an honourable exit,” before making any move to remove the premier through a no-trust vote.
According to the sources, the meeting also explored potential successors, with Chaudhry Yaseen, Chaudhry Latif Akbar and Sardar Yaqoob emerging as strong contenders for the coveted post. In the AJK assembly, the PPP, with the support of the PML-N, has the support of more than 27 lawmakers, a magic number required to form the government. The PPP has 17 members in the house, 10 of whom are ministers and two are advisers, while AJK Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar also hails from the PPP.
It may be noted that the PPP had already decided it would not remain a part of the government, but it remained undecided about whether to sit on the opposition benches or form its own government in the region.
Meanwhile, the official statement by the party said that Bhutto-Zardari presided over the PPP AJK Parliamentary group meeting and “discussed the political situation” in AJK. The statement added that the PPP leaders of the AJK chapter discussed improving the organisational structure of the party in the region and the current political situation in AJK.
The meeting was also attended by former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and former Kashmir affairs minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, who had recently led a federal government delegation to talk to the protesters in AJK and remained successful in ending the protest after an agreement was signed in the first week of October. At least 10 had been killed while scores were injured in clashes between the law enforcers and the protesters that lasted for days.
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