By Staff Reporter
MUZAFFARABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party appeared poised to assume control of the government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir after 10 lawmakers from a dissident faction defected to its ranks, paving the way for the ouster of Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq and the installation of a PPP leader through a no-confidence motion or his resignation.
The shift, which swelled the PPP’s support in the 52-member legislative assembly to 27 lawmakers, the threshold for a simple majority, followed a meeting on Saturday between President Asif Ali Zardari and AJK lawmakers from his party, where he approved the plan to form a new regional government. The decision prompted defections from the so-called forward bloc, a group of renegades originally elected on tickets from former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
If the PPP’s strategy succeeds, it would mark the fourth prime minister in the assembly’s four-and-a-half-year term, underscoring the volatile politics in this Pakistan-administered territory. After conferring with the AJK lawmakers, President Zardari spoke with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to brief him on the party’s intentions and approach to forming a government in Azad Kashmir.
Sharif then established a three-member committee consisting of Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanaullah and Amir Muqam to address issues surrounding the governmental change. The PML-N representatives are expected to negotiate with the PPP for influence over administrative and financial affairs in Azad Kashmir.
Meanwhile, the PML-N’s regional leadership has opted out of participating in the new government, invoking past unsuccessful coalition efforts. “The experiment of the coalition government has failed and we have decided to sit on opposition benches,” Shah Ghulam Qadir, the AJK PML-N president, said. In the event of a no-confidence vote against Haq, PMLN’s Qadir said his party had not committed to supporting it. The party holds nine seats in the assembly. A PPP insider, however, asserted that the party could remove the AJK prime minister without PML-N backing, claiming support from at least 30 members, exceeding the required 27.
The insider said Sardar Atiq of the Muslim Conference and Hasan Ibrahim of the Jammu Kashmir Peoples Party would also back the no-trust motion against Haq. The defections unfolded in separate meetings at Zardari House in Islamabad with Faryal Talpur, who oversees the PPP’s women wing and AJK political affairs. Ch. Yasir Sultan, Sardar Muhammad Hussain, Ch. Muhammad Ikhlaq, Ch. Arshad Hussain and Ch. Muhammad Rasheed, all ministers, announced their decision to join the PPP. AJK Minister for Higher Education Zafar Iqbal Malik also met Talpur to formally declare his switch.
In another group, ministers Faheem Akhtar Rabbani, Muhammad Asim Sharif, Ch. Muhammad Akbar and Abdul Majid Khan convened with Talpur to confirm their inclusion in the PPP. Before the defections, the PPP held 17 seats, the PML-N nine, the PTI four, and the Muslim Conference and Jammu Kashmir Peoples Party one each. The addition of the 10 lawmakers from the forward bloc brought the PPP to 27. The new members joined a day after Zardari met with his party’s AJK lawmakers and reaffirmed his dedication to politics of reconciliation and tolerance. The gathering assessed governance issues in AJK, the shifting political dynamics and the party’s plan for a new administration.
Officials indicated that Ch. Yaseen is a likely candidate for the premiership, though President Zardari is set to make the final choice after additional consultations. With roughly six months left in the assembly’s term, Haq would be the third leader to exit prematurely. In August 2021, the PTI selected Abdul Qayyum Niazi as prime minister after his nomination by then-prime minister Imran Khan. Niazi won 35 votes against 15 for opposition candidate Latif Akbar in the 53-seat house. After nine months, Niazi resigned and was succeeded by PTI regional president Sardar Tanveer Ilyas. In April 2023, Ilyas was disqualified by a full bench of the AJK High Court for contempt, leading to Haq’s appointment. Haq has held the post for over two years but now faces imminent replacement by a PPP nominee.
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