Azad Kashmir gets 3rd prime minister in 2 years

ISLAMABAD

The Legislative Assembly of Pakistan-administered Kashmir has elected its speaker Chaudhry Anwarul Haq as the new prime minister after more than a week of political uncertainty following the disqualification of the region's previous premier by a local court.

According to the Legislative Assembly Secretariat, Haq was elected as the 15th prime minister of the region, also known as Azad Kashmir, as no opposition parties ran against him.

All 48 members of the house – 29 from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), as well as opposition members from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN-N) and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) – put their trust in Haq because no one filed nomination papers to challenge him.

The PTI won 32 seats in the July 2021 elections, giving it a majority in the 53-member Legislative Assembly. The PPP stood second with 14 seats, while the PML-N came in third with seven. However, Haq was able to secure the trust of 48 lawmakers in the House.

"I contested the election as an independent candidate and became the Prime Minister with the support of opposition parties (PMLN-N and PPP)," Haq said in a speech to the Legislative Assembly on Thursday after being elected at a session held in the small hours.

The Legislative Assembly Secretariat had given interested candidates only 15 minutes before the election to submit their nomination papers at midnight.

Later, the assembly secretary announced that it had only received Haq's nomination paper and that he had thus been elected unopposed.

Pakistan's ruling alliance in Islamabad celebrated Haq's election as their victory despite the new premier belonging to the PTI of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, which is now considered the country’s major opposition party.

While commenting on the dramatic move after his party supported Haq, former Azad Kashmir prime minister and senior leader of the PML-N, Raja Farooq Haider Khan, said it was a joint decision of opposition parties.

"Today the leadership of PMLN & PPP decided to elect a new govt in AJK. There was no interference from outside. It was the unanimous decision of both parties to end the prevailing uncertainty in AJK." Khan tweeted.

PPP spokesman Faisal Karim Kundi also congratulated Haq via social media, calling it a "farewell to the PTI government in AJK."

While the PTI appears to be unhappy with the latest move, its Azad Kashmir President and former Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, who was disqualified by the region’s High Court in a contempt case, has warned that nothing contrary to party policies will be tolerated.

Azad Kashmir has been in a week-long stalemate over the election of a new premier after PTI local leaders failed to agree on a single name for the top position following Ilyas' conviction and disqualification from holding any public office on April 11.

A flamboyant Ilyas had criticized the judiciary during a public gathering for issuing stay orders in cases related to government affairs.

After Ilyas' disqualification, Khan shortlisted three lawmakers, including Haq, and asked the parliamentary party to reach an agreement on one name to become Azad Kashmir prime minister.

Ilyas was elected to the coveted position in April 2022, following the resignation of his predecessor, Abdul Qayyum Niazi, who served for less than nine months.

"Chaudhry Anwar used to say I'm doing this to save the party… today the conspiracy has been exposed," Ilyas was quoted as saying by local broadcaster Geo News.

According to Ilyas, Khan did not nominate Haq as the PTI candidate for the top position in Azad Kashmir.