No-trust motion ousts AJK speaker

Published
0

Azad Jammu Kashmir Prime Minister, Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, offers prayers for flood victims during AJK assembly session held in Muzaffarabad on August 12, 2010. — Photo by PPI
MUZAFFARABAD The AJK Legislative Assembly passed a no-confidence motion against Speaker Shah Ghulam Qadir on Thursday.

The speaker's ouster was a foregone conclusion after Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, who heads the Muslim Conference (MC), entered into an informal alliance with 19 MLAs belonging to different parties and groups and was re-elected to the post of prime minister, ousting Raja Farooq Haider.

In the power struggle, Mr Ghulam Qadir supported the losing side.

Lawmakers from both sides expressed the views on the no-confidence motion against the speaker. Nine lawmakers of the PML-N did not take part in the voting held through secret ballot.

Mr Qadir, elected from a Kashmiri refugees' constituency in Rawalpindi, said in his speech that he was satisfied that he had discharged his responsibilities to the best of his abilities.

Sardar Farooq Ahmed Tahir of the MC, who presided over the session, announced the motion against Mr Qadir had been adopted by 35 votes.

AJK PML chief Barrister Sultan Mahmood and two MLAs each from the MC and PPAJK did not show up.

Mr Qadir is the second speaker since 1975, when the parliamentary form of government was introduced in AJK, to have been ousted through a no-trust motion. In June 1998, (late) Raja Mumtaz Hussain Rathore was ousted by his own People's Party.

The post of speaker is likely to be filled by Chaudhry Anwaarul Haq, from Bhimber.

Opinion

Editorial

Iran status quo
Updated 12 Nov, 2026

Iran status quo

The US cannot hold the world hostage in order to find an honourable exit from a disastrous war for which it has only itself — and Israel — to blame.
Unspent funds
12 Nov, 2026

Unspent funds

THE slow pace of development spending shows how public investment continues to bear the brunt of efforts to create a...
Homes and hope
12 Nov, 2026

Homes and hope

THE completion of more than one million homes for families displaced by the 2022 floods is a moment worth...
Opposition moves
Updated 11 Nov, 2026

Opposition moves

Expectations of the maulana leading another street confrontation with the government anytime soon are likely to remain wishful thinking.
CT battle
Updated 11 Nov, 2026

CT battle

Gains made over the last month should be capitalised on, with the affected areas permanently cleared of terrorists.
Water management
11 Nov, 2026

Water management

THE Sindh chief minister, while reflecting on Karachi’s water woes, recently observed that water supply is only part...