In a sudden and unexpected turn on Thursday, Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq was unanimously elected as the 15th Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
Chaudhry bagged 48 votes out of the 52-strong House, the largest mandate in the history of the Legislative Assembly of the beautiful valley.
This development comes after the Azad Jammu and Kashmir High Court disqualified Tanveer Ilyas, chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), in a contempt of court case.
Earlier this week, on Monday, the assembly session to elect a new prime minister was adjourned without any polling. Azad Kashmir Assembly Secretary confirmed that no nomination papers have been submitted for any other candidate for the Prime Ministership.
An emergency session of the Legislative Assembly of Azad Jammu and Kashmir was held after midnight when Speaker Anwar-ul-Haq was elected to the post of Prime Minister.
A time of 15 minutes was given for submission of nomination papers and voting took place after Haq was elected unopposed. Anwar-ul-Haq got 12 votes from Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Forward Bloc, 12 and seven from Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
In his inaugural address to the assembly after his election, he said he had contested as an independent candidate, stressing that he had the support of both PDM and PTI members. Chaudhry also formed an alliance with the opposition parties and decided the power-sharing formula together with them.
Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry rebelled against his own party and formed a forward block in the assembly. According to sources, Chaudhry’s forward block has the support of People’s Party and Muslim League-N.
Last week, the AJK High Court disqualified Sardar Tanveer Ilyas for contempt of court, in a major blow to the PTI. The court disqualified Ilyas from holding any public office and asked Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Abdul Rashid Salharia to hold elections for his successor as prime minister. The court’s decision came after Ilyas was summoned to the Supreme Court and High Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir for using a “threatening tone” in one of his speeches.
