Global Courant 2023-04-20 16:38:43
ISLAMABAD
Pakistan-administered Kashmir’s Legislature has elected its president, Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, as the new prime minister after more than a week of political uncertainty followed the region’s previous prime minister being disqualified 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 party opposed him.
All 48 members of the assembly – 29 of them from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and opposition members from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) – gave their confidence because no one challenged him. He did not apply for candidacy.
The PTI won 32 seats in the July 2021 elections, securing a majority in the 53-member Legislature. PPP was second with 14 seats and PML-N was third with seven. However, Haq managed to gain the trust of 48 deputies in the Assembly.
Addressing the Legislature on Thursday after being elected in a small session, Haq said: “I contested the election as an independent candidate and became Prime Minister with the support of the opposition parties (PMLN-N and PPP). hour.
The Legislative Assembly Secretariat had given interested candidates only 15 minutes before the election to submit their nomination papers at midnight.
Later, the parliamentary secretary announced that only Haq had received the candidacy certificate and was therefore elected unopposed.
Pakistan’s ruling alliance in Islamabad celebrated Haq’s election as their victory, despite the new prime minister belonging to the PTI of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, now considered the country’s main opposition party.
Commenting on the dramatic move after his party backed Haq, Raja Farooq Haider Khan, the former prime minister of Azad Kashmir and senior leader of the PML-N, said it was a joint decision of the opposition parties.
“Today the PMLN & PPP leadership decided to elect a new government in AJK. There was no outside interference. It was a unanimous decision by both sides to end the uncertainty that reigned in the AJK.” Khan tweeted.
PPP spokesperson Faisal Karim Kundi also congratulated Haq via social media, saying “goodbye to the PTI government in AJK”.
While the PTI doesn’t seem happy with the latest move, Azad Kashmir President and former Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, who was disqualified by the district’s Supreme Court in a humiliation case, warned that anything contrary to party policies would not be tolerated.
Azad Kashmir has been at a stalemate for a week over the election of a new prime minister after PTI local leaders failed to agree on a single name for the top position after Ilyas was barred from any public office and sentenced on April 11.
A flamboyant Ilyas had criticized the judiciary at a public meeting for issuing a stay order in cases involving government affairs.
Following the disqualification of Ilyas, Khan shortlisted three MPs, including Haq, and asked the parliamentary party to agree on a name to become prime minister of Azad Kashmir.
Ilyas was elected to the coveted post in April 2022, following the resignation of his predecessor Abdul Qayyum Niazi, who served less than nine months.
Ilyas told local broadcaster Geo News, “Chaudhry Anwar used to say I did this to save the party… today the conspiracy was exposed.”
According to Ilyas, Khan did not nominate Haq as a PTI candidate for the top position in Azad Kashmir.
Only a part of the news presented to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS) and a summary are available on the Anadolu Agency website. Please contact us for subscription options.
