ISLAMABAD: Winning 33 votes in the newly formed Legislative Assembly of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Abdul Qayyum Niazi became the new prime minister of the autonomous territory on Wednesday, whereas joint opposition’s candidate Chaudhry Latif Akbar garnered 15 votes.
Niazi succeeds PML-N’s Raja Farooq Haider, whose tenure in the AJK PM’s office had ended on July 30. He was administered the oath of his office by AJK President Sardar Masood Khan.
Earlier, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry announced that Prime Minister Imran Khan has nominated a local PTI leader as the next prime minister of AJK.
Niazi “is a dynamic and genuine political activist and his heart beats for the people”, Chaudhry said in a tweet, adding the decision was reached after extensive consultations and reviewing all the proposals.
طویل مشاورت اور تجاویز کے جائزے کے بعد وزیر اعظم پاکستان و چیرمین تحریک انصاف عمران خان نے نومنتخب ایم ایل ائے جناب عبدالقیوم نیازی کو وزیر اعظم آزاد کشمیر کے عہدے کیلئے نامزد کیا ہے وہ ایک متحرک اور حقیقی سیاسی کارکن ہیں جن کا دل کارکنوں کے ساتھ دھڑکتا ہے۔
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) August 4, 2021
Azhar Mashwani, an aide to Punjab chief minister on digital media, said Niazi was a member of the AJK Legislative Assembly from Abbaspur Poonch, a border town, a central joint secretary of the party.
Before joining the PTI some two years ago, Niazi was an active member of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference.
The ruling party has formed a government in the mountainous region following a clear lead in July 25 elections.
According to official results, it clinched 26 general seats of the 53-member House. Three more PTI candidates were elected unopposed on Sunday against five seats reserved for women.
Later on Monday, it secured another three reserved seats, raising its strength to 32 in the House.
Over the weekend, the prime minister interviewed seven candidates for the position. According to a report, he put various questions to them, relating to their future strategy and views on the environment, tourism and regional and international issues.
Initially, Niazi, who won the election from the LA-18 constituency, was not among the leading candidates for the office.
Another report citing sources claimed Imran had expressed displeasure over the fact that he was being contacted by different quarters that were exerting pressure to select particular candidates.
PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNANCE:
Following the division of the region between Pakistan and India in 1947, Azad Kashmir was governed under the presidential form of government. In 1975, then-prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto introduced the parliamentary system of governance for the region.
This first government headed by Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party was dismissed in 1977 due to the imposition of martial law by then-army chief Gen Ziaul Haq. There were no elections until 1985.
The Muslim-majority region is held by Pakistan and India in parts and claimed both in full. A small sliver of land is also held by China.
Since India revoked autonomy and annexed the part that it is holding into two centrally administered territories on August 5, 2019, elections in Azad Kashmir have attained considerable significance.
