MUZAFFARABAD: Former Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) prime minister and parliamentary leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Raja Farooq Haider, on Friday said the government and administration had lost control over affairs, plunging the state into a deep administrative crisis.

In an informal conversation with journalists at the Central Press Club, Muzaffarabad, he asserted that the police and civil administration were “demoralised and hesitant to perform their duties amid prevailing political uncertainty”.

“Azad Kashmir is facing the worst administrative paralysis. The police and administration are dispirited, and there is no one to listen to them,” Mr Haider remarked.

Recalling Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq’s oft-repeated claims of upholding democratic principles, the former premier said once 27 lawmakers had publicly shown their support for the no-confidence motion, Mr Haq should have demonstrated moral courage and resigned on his own.

“There is no denying that Mr Haq has lost his majority in the Legislative Assembly and, therefore, no moral justification remains for him to cling to office,” he said, urging the premier to either dissolve the assembly or step down to “prevent further damage to the system”.

Mr Haider said the ongoing situation had inflicted “irreparable harm” on the region’s politics, adding that the uncertainty reflected the indecisiveness of political leadership.

“In the past, no-confidence motions were moved, but the situation never deteriorated to this extent. The current state of affairs is highly damaging for Azad Kashmir,” he warned.

The veteran leader said the matter had lingered due to weak political leadership, otherwise a no-confidence motion would not have become such a big issue.

Answering a question, Mr Haider maintained that the ministers who signed the motion against the prime minister should have resigned first.

Discreetly criticising the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), he regretted that despite publicly supporting the motion, its ministers continued to enjoy official perks and remained in the cabinet. “They should have resigned first,” he reiterated.

Mr Haider said he had advised his party’s regional president Shah Ghulam Qadir to secure resignations from the party’s ministers, since the PML-N had already announced its support for the no-confidence motion.

“Two of our ministers have already resigned, and I wonder what the remaining two are waiting for. They should do so without further delay,” he said.

Calling for fresh elections as the only viable solution to the political turmoil, Mr Haider, however, cautioned that the prevailing environment could also affect the electoral process.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2025