THERE has been yet another change in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. The PML-N’s regional president, Shah Ghulam Qadir, has replaced Khawaja Farooq Ahmed of the PTI as leader of the opposition. With the AJK government recently passing to the PPP after a carefully orchestrated no-confidence motion against erstwhile AJK prime minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, both the opposition and treasury benches in the legislature are now in control of parties that are solidly allied at the centre. The question naturally arises: what can be expected from such a House? The opposition is supposed to use its mandate to scrutinise the government and its decisions. By its very nature, it is supposed to be antagonistic: it must challenge, debate and demand transparency in legislation and budgets. How can a friendly opposition deliver on that front?

It bears remembering that AJK witnessed widespread sociopolitical upheaval in recent months, and its public will be expecting a meaningful pivot in state policy. The issues raised by the Joint Awami Action Committee and echoed by public protesters concerned poor governance, economic distress, the need for structural reforms, questions of representation and improved delivery of justice. The erstwhile government was shown the door following the protests. It would have been natural to expect big, positive changes. However, many will eye with trepidation the wheeling-dealing and politicking seen in the days since, with politicians simply swapping parties and allegiances to align themselves better with the shift in power. The public would have wanted the new government to immediately take visible steps to address their issues. Instead, what they are seeing in its creation is politicians cynically jockeying for positions rather than taking principled positions. Now that the AJK legislature has been reshuffled, both the government and opposition must focus on the task at hand. The people of AJK have already signalled that their patience has run out. They should not be tested further.

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2025