PPP ranks swell as it prepares to take AJK helm
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• 10 lawmakers, including ministers, join party; leader confident they can form govt without ‘N’ backing
• PM Shehbaz forms panel for talks with PPP; PML-N regional president rules out plan to join AJK set-up
ISLAMABAD: The PPP seemed to be in a comfortable position to take the helm in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) after as many as 10 lawmakers from the AJK Legislative Assembly joined the party.
The PPP now appears to be ready to install its own man to lead the regional government in light of the imminent exit of the incumbent prime minister, Anwarul Haq, through a no-confidence motion or resignation.
The plan to form the regional government was approved by President Asif Ali Zardari, who met the AJK lawmakers on Saturday, and the decision seemingly led to lawmakers from the ‘forward bloc’ joining the PPP, a coalition partner of the PML-N in the Centre.
If things go according to the PPP’s plan, AJK will have its fourth premier in the four-and-a-half years of the assembly.
After his meeting with the AJK lawmakers, President Zardari also spoke with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to take him into confidence over his party’s decision and strategy to form a government in Azad Kashmir.
The premier subsequently formed a three-member committee, comprising Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanaullah, and Amir Muqam, to discuss matters regarding the change of government in Kashmir. The PML-N team in talks with the PPP is expected to seek a say in administrative and financial matters in Azad Kashmir.
On the other hand, the regional leadership of the PML-N said it would not become part of the upcoming government, citing previous failed experiments of the coalition government. AJK PML-N President Shah Ghulam Qadir told Dawn that they would sit on the opposition benches.
In light of a possible vote against the AJK PM, he said the PML-N had not even promised to vote against Mr Haq if a no-confidence motion against him was tabled in the house. “The experiment of the coalition government has failed and we have decided to sit on opposition benches,” he remarked.
A PPP insider, however, said the party could send the AJK premier packing even without the support of the PML-N, which has nine members in the house. He said the party had the support of at least 30 members in the house — more than the required 27 to oust the AJK PM. He said Sardar Atiq of the Muslim Conference and Hasan Ibrahim of the Jammu Kashmir Peoples Party will also support the no-trust motion against PM Haq.
Lawmakers join PPP
In their separate meetings with Faryal Talpur, who heads the PPP’s women wing and the AJK political affairs wing, at Zardari House in Islamabad, Ch Yasir Sultan, (minister) Sardar Muhammad Hussain, (minister) Ch Muhammad Ikhlaq, (minister) Ch Arshad Hussain, (minister), and Ch Muhammad Rasheed (minister) announced their decision to join the PPP.
Similarly, AJK Minister for Higher Education Zafar Iqbal Malik also met Ms Talpur and formally announced his decision to join the PPP.
Another group of ministers from AJK, including Faheem Akhtar Rabbani, Muhammad Asim Sharif, Ch Muhammad Akbar, and Abdul Majid Khan, met Faryal Talpur to announce their decision to join the PPP. Senior PPP leader Ch. Muhammad Riaz was present at all these meetings.
Numbers game
The AJK Legislative Assembly has 52 members and to achieve a simple majority, a party requires the support of 27 members. Presently, the PPP has 17 seats, the PML-N nine, the PTI four, and the Muslim Conference and Jammu Kashmir Peoples Party each have one member. The PPP’s ranks swelled to 27 after ten more lawmakers from the forward bloc joined it on Sunday. The new entrants announced their decision a day after Mr Zardari met his party lawmakers from AJK and reaffirmed his commitment to the politics of reconciliation and tolerance. The Saturday meeting had reviewed governance challenges in AJK, the evolving political landscape, and the party’s strategy for forming a new government in the region.
Sources said President Zardari briefed the AJK parliamentary party on the decision to take charge of the AJK government, calling it an “extraordinary and challenging step” for the PPP. “The PPP is assuming responsibility in difficult circumstances, but I am confident the party will deliver in AJK just as it has in the past,” Mr Zardari was quoted as saying.
Sources said Ch Yaseen is likely to be nominated for the coveted slot. However, President Asif Zardari is expected to finalise the party’s nominee for the AJK premiership after further consultations.
With almost six months remaining in the assembly’s term, this will be the fourth prime minister in AJK in as many years. In August 2021, the PTI picked Abdul Qayyum Niazi as the premier after he was named for the slot by then-PM Imran Khan.
Mr Niazi secured 35 votes against the joint opposition candidate Latif Akbar, who bagged only 15 votes, in the 53-seat house. After nine months, Mr Niazi resigned from the position and was replaced by PTI regional president Sardar Tanveer Ilyas.
In April 2023, Mr Ilyas was disqualified by the full court bench of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) High Court from being a member of the legislative assembly for contempt. He was then replaced by Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, who is likely to be replaced by a PPP candidate after spending over two years in power.
Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2025
