MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed flew to the United Kingdom on Thursday along with two cabinet members to make arrangements for a public meeting of PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in Birmingham on November 15.

However, an official handout claimed that he would meet different personalities, including British parliamentarians and councillors and overseas Kashmiris, and attend various functions.

The prime minister, who would stay in UK for at least ten days, was accompanied by minister for college education Matloob Inqilabi and minister for auqaf Afsar Shahid.

Senior minister Chaudhry Mohammad Yasin and minister for rehabilitation Abdul Majid Khan are already in UK.

Another group of ministers would be leaving for UK in next couple of days to join their boss and colleagues in efforts to draw maximum crowds at Mr Bilawal’s public meeting.

With senior minister already out of the country, the office of acting prime minister was assumed, after the departure of Premier Majeed, by minister for finance, planning and development Chaudhry Latif Akbar. A notification to this effect was issued the other day.

Mr Akbar is one of the senior most legislators in AJK, and also the secretary general of the AJK chapter of Peoples Party.

However, the PPP’s central leadership ignored him, causing anger in the ranks of their workers in Muzaffarabad division in particular and elsewhere in general.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2014