March 07, 2008	Friday	Safar 28, 1429

MUZAFFARABAD, March 6: AJK Prime Minister Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan here on Thursday accepted a second resignation, this time from a cabinet member, but immediately re-appointed her as his adviser with the same status.

Ms Shamim Ali Malick, who was elected against one of the five seats reserved for women in the AJK Legislature, was inducted in the cabinet to represent the Neelum valley, where the opposition People’s Party had clinched victory in the general elections.

However, as the pressure was mounting on the prime minister to adjust the directly elected lawmakers in the government, Ms Malick tendered her resignation on Thursday, a day after special assistant to prime minister Dr Abdul Haleem Khan did the same.

Apart from Ms Malick, Raja Mansab Dad Khan, directly elected from Kotli, and Chaudhry Mohammad Ismail, elected from a Kashmiri refugees’ constituency in the Punjab, were also appointed as adviser and special assistant to prime minister respectively, with the status of minister.

Sources close to the prime minister said that some inductions in the cabinet were likely to be made on Friday.