MUZAFFARABAD, Nov 27: Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan was elected and sworn-in as president of the ruling Muslim Conference for the third consecutive term on Thursday, a day after his rival group in the party had “suspended him from the top position” and appointed another senior office-bearer at helms of the party for an interim period.

Election of Mr Khan was announced in the party's central executive committee’s meeting which was followed by a convention attended by thousands of MC workers in a stadium in the southern lakeside city of Mirpur.

The MC chief was administered oath by his father and veteran leader Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan who is also party's “supreme head”, a position which opponents allege does not figure in the party's constitution.

On Wednesday, the MC rebel group had also held the ‘central executive committee meeting’ at the Rawalpindi residence of Sardar Sikandar Hayat where party's senior vice-president Raja Farooq Haider MLA was appointed as “interim president until election to the party's top slot were held in accordance with prescribed procedure.”

The meeting was also attended and addressed by 10 members of a ‘forward block’ in the government which has vowed to oust the incumbent prime minister with the help of “other likeminded colleagues and opposition parties.” On Thursday, 21 out of 34 members of the ruling party's parliamentary party, including the prime minister, attended the Mirpur function.

On the occasion, Sardar Attique avoided any harsh comments about his opponents, except alleging that the people “conspiring against the MC government were inimical to development in AJK and had badly hurt the self-respect of party workers during their rule.”

“The politically handicapped persons in AJK could not find any clutches from Pakistan and I am grateful to President Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N leaders Mian Nawaz Sharif and Mian Shahbaz Sharif in this regard,” he said, referring to attempts by his opponents to oust him with the help of opposition groups.