PDM-backed Anwarul Haq elected AJK prime minister unopposed
Pakistan
No other candidate had filed nomination paper for the post of Prime Minister.
MUZAFFARABAD (Dunya News) – After a week-long political impasse, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly finally elected Speaker Chaudhry Anwarul Haq as new AJK Prime Minister unopposed on late Wednesday night, Dunya News reported.
The Assembly Secretary further said that the polling process will be conducted as per the rules despite the fact that Prime minister has been elected unopposed.
Later, polling was also held in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly during which PDM-backed Chaudhry Anwarul Haq secured 48 votes and elected as new AJK Prime Minister.
It is pertinent to mention here that the assembly session had been requisitioned by the opposition after the disqualification former prime minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas by the AJK High Court on April 11 for indirectly accusing the judiciary of hindering his government’s functioning and interfering in the executive’s domain through the grant of stay orders.
Under the Interim Constitution of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, when the office of prime minister falls vacant during the in-session House, it (LA) shall forthwith proceed to elect new leader of the house setting aside the routine agenda.
The House on April 12 put aside all other agenda and met four times, but the schedule for the election of new leader of the house could not be issued due to split in the ruling Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf (PTI) AJK.
The PTI, which holds a majority in the AJK Legislative Assembly, was expected to get elected a nominee of its Chairman Imran Khan. However, AJK President Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry, a PTI member, formed a forward bloc within the party, hindering the smooth election.
