MUZAFFARABAD: Begum Shamshad Aziz, the wife of retired General Mohammad Aziz Khan, became a member of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly on a reserved seat for women, here on Tuesday.

Ms Aziz secured all 25 votes of the ruling People Party (PPAJK) and its allies, against four bagged by her lone rival Samia Sajid of the Muslim Conference (MC).

Since the major opposition group Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had not fielded any candidate, its 11 legislators did not take part in the voting process, which was held at the MLA Hostel from 10am to 3pm.

The seat had been vacated in the second week of June, following the resignation of PML-N’s Dr Fouzia Ashraf due to ‘personal reasons’.

PPAJK sources told Dawn that majority of lawmakers was in favour of electing Nabila Ayub, a staunch party activist from Mirpur, as she had been sacrificed at the altar of PPAJK’s ‘reconciliation policy’ with the MC in July 2011.

Ruling party members displeased as the central leadership decides to nominate Begum Aziz for the post

However, they were literally dumbstruck after their central leadership announced its decision in favour of Ms Aziz, even though she had joined the party in December 2010, just seven months before the last general elections.

“We must keep in mind that Benazir Bhutto is not there to stand up for the party workers anymore,” remarked one PPAJK lawmaker, requesting anonymity. “We were helpless,” he added.

Another leader said: “No doubt, it was not a pleasant decision but we had to submit ourselves to party discipline.”

Sources said the ruling parliamentary party had strictly directed that all 25 votes were cast “at all costs” in favour of Ms Aziz.

Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed arrived at the MLA Hostel at 9am and remained present in his makeshift office till the last moment to personally ensure that all legislators showed up to mark their ballot papers.

Soon after the announcement of the results, Ms Aziz was sworn in as an MLA by Speaker Sardar Ghulam Sadiq at a high profile ceremony at the MLA Hostel, which was attended by President Sardar Mohammad Yaqoob Khan, Prime Minister Majeed, Deputy Speaker Shaheen Dar, several cabinet members, government officials and some political activists.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2014