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MUZZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly will reconvene on Monday in Muzaffarabad to elect a new prime minister.
The AJK assembly will choose a new speaker after the state’s High Court ousted former Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas in a court contempt case on April 11th.
Sardar Tanveer Ilyas was elected to the AJK Legislative Assembly from the LA-15 Bagh-2 constituency.
The prime minister shall be elected promptly during the legislative session, according to Article 17 of the Assembly rules clause 16. Because of the two-day continuous adjournment of the legislative session, the leader of the house could not be elected.
After the disqualification of Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Tanvir Ilyas, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has struggled to choose a replacement prime minister.
The party’s Forward Block claims to have achieved an agreement with the opposition to elect a new prime minister.
The Barrister Sultan Mehmood Group has announced Chaudhry Akhlaq and Chaudhry Rasheed as its candidates for the coveted position of AJK Prime Minister.
If the opposition and the Sultan Mehmood group form an alliance, their legislative assembly vote total will be 26, whereas 27 votes are required for the prime minister to be elected in the legislature, which has 52 members.
Thus, the lone vote of Muslim Conference’s Sardar Ateeq Ahmed, a former regional prime minister, has strategic significance.
Barrister Sultan’s faction, which consists of six parliamentarians, could act as kingmaker. Their backing could help a candidate win the role of Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, opposition lawmakers Chaudhry Yaseen, Chaudhry Latif, and Faisal Mumtaz have entered the contest for PM.
