ISLAMABAD: A lawmaker from Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) was elected to the top post in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Thursday, officials said.
Lawmakers in the Legislative Assembly of Azad Jammu and Kashmir elected Anwar ul-Haq to replace Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, who was removed as the region’s prime minister last week by a court for insulting judges.
With no other candidates submitting nomination papers, Haq received the trust of all 48 members present in the parliament, including 29 from the ruling PTI and opposition members from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Haq had remained with the PTI since Ilyas’s disqualification, reportedly to ensure the party’s return to power in the face of opposition manoeuvres.
Sultan Mahmood, president of Kashmir, was said to be influencing a small group of party deserters who were willing to support the opposition in clinching power.
Haq was among the three lawmakers shortlisted by former prime minister Imran Khan, who had asked the parliamentary party to build consensus on one name for the position.
Kashmir’s disputed Himalayan region is split between Pakistan and India but claimed by both in its entirety. The two countries have fought two wars over Kashmir since gaining independence from British colonial rule in 1947.
— With AP
