MUZAFFARABAD: The ongoing session of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly, which was supposed to initiate proceedings for electing a new leader of the house on Friday, was adjourned by the chair for lack of quorum.

Speaker Chaudhry Anwarul Haq had summoned the session at 2pm. However, when the house met after around one and a half hours, there were hardly nine lawmakers in attendance, all from the opposition PPP and PML-N.

At the outset, PML-N’s Ahmed Raza Qadri pointed out the lack of quorum, following which counting was held and bells were rung for five minutes.

However, since no one else turned up, the speaker adjourned the session until 2:15pm on Saturday.

Meanwhile, there were reports that the combined opposition has nominated PPP president Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin for the prime minister’s office, but these were denied by a PPP leader.

Combined opposition undecided on candidate as PTI seems ‘divided’ on its nominee

On the other hand, the ruling PTI appeared to be divided on its nominee for the slot.

PTI sources told Dawn that at his meeting with his party’s legislators in Zaman Park on Wednesday, a day after disqualification of Sardar Tanveer Ilyas by the AJK high court, Imran Khan had chosen three names — interim prime minister Khawaja Farooq Ahmed from Muzaffarabad, cabinet member Chaudhry Azhar Sadiq from Mirpur and sitting speaker Anwarul Haq from Bhimber — advising the parliamentary party to build consensus on any of them for the post.

However, allegedly unhappy with the choice of Mr Khan, AJK President Barrister Sultan Mahmood had been wheeling and dealing to get someone he backed in this office.

Mr Mahmood is said to be holding sway over a handful of lawmakers, including his brother-in-law and son.

Interestingly, in his Mirpur division, he was said to be averse not only to Mr Haq and Mr Sadiq of PTI, but also Mr Yasin of PPP “because he didn’t want to see another Jaat challenging his clout within the tribe”, sources said.

Sensing the trouble, Mr Khan had rushed Pervez Khattak and Asad Qaiser to Muzaffarabad on Thursday to handle the situation.

Early on Friday, while 19 PTI lawmakers, who had given their mandate to Mr Khan, were in the PM House Muzaffarabad, more than 10 were in Islamabad with Mr Mahmood and former prime minister Sardar

Tanveer Ilyas, who is also PTI’s regional president .

Interestingly, those in Islamabad included the ones who have sought PTI tickets to contest upcoming Punjab Assembly elections.

Sources claimed that Mr Mahmood was initially desirous of entering the premier’s office himself through some arrangement, but when that didn’t work out, he gave his blessing to Chaudhry Muhammad Rasheed, a cabinet member from Muzaffarabad.

Mr Ilyas, who was initially in favour of either Deevan Ali Chughtai or Faheem Akhtar Rabbani, had also changed his mind on Friday and agreed to the nomination of Mr Rasheed, the sources added.

This was ostensibly why reports that the PTI had nominated Mr Rasheed as its candidate for the prime minister’s election circulated on Friday.

However, PTI lawmakers at PM House dismissed the news as false. “As yet, no final decision about the party’s candidate has been made,” one of them told Dawn on condition of anonymity.

Sources in the PM House told Dawn that a meeting of 24 PTI lawmakers was in progress with Mr Khattak, Mr Qaiser and Mr Ilyas also in attendance at the time of going to press. Two more PTI lawmakers were also with them, they claimed.

On the other hand, five MLAs, including Mr Rasheed, were in the presidency until the filing of this report. Rumours were also swirling that Mr Mahmood could form a ‘forward bloc’ in the PTI to try and forge an alliance with the PPP.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2023