Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore on Tuesday was sworn in as the 16th prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

The oath-taking ceremony was held a day after PPP’s Rathore was announced as the new AJK premier after Chaudhry Anwarul Haq was ousted through a vote of no-confidence (VoNC) in the region’s legislative assembly.

The oath was administered by AJK Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar at the President’s House in Muzaffarabad. The speaker performed the duty on behalf of AJK President Barrister Sultan Mahmood, who reportedly could not travel to the regional capital owing to his health issues.

Speaking after the oath, Rathore said, “First of all, I thank God from my heart for bestowing this heavy responsibility on my weak shoulders.”

The newly sworn-in premier said fulfilling those duties would not be an “easy task in this extremely difficult era”, but said he believed God gave strength to those entrusted with such tasks.

Rathore also thanked President Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur, saying that owing to them, not only was a “new government established, but the PPP has again become one of the biggest parties” in AJK.

The PPP leader termed AJK a “basecamp” of the freedom movement for Kashmir. “It aims to cultivate this movement and fully play its role in it while staying here,” he said.

The new premier highlighted that another key point was the region’s development and progress. He paid tribute to the martyrs of the freedom movement and the soldiers on the Line of Control.

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Rathore also recalled that in 1975, ex-PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had chosen his father late Raja Mumtaz Hussain Rathore as a senior minister, and later in 1990, ex-PM Benazir Bhutto chose him as the AJK premier “despite him being a part of a small community in the PPP”.

“And now, in 2025, the party leadership trusted me and sent me into this field,” Rathore added. He went on to affirm that this “relationship of trust based on half a decade” would remain between him and his party.

‘Six months are a test’

PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also spoke on the occasion, urging the people to work together with his party. He also called for the restoration of open courts in the region.

Pointing out that elections were due in AJK in six months, he asked the PPP’s head in the region, Chaudhry Yasin, to start preparing for the polls.

He further assured that the PPP would not run the government from “closed rooms”.

“We will sit among the public, meet them, join their political struggle, and resolve their problems.”

He further stated: “These six months are a test. After this test, we will […] again get the people’s mandate and again lead this government. And we will show the world that when we work together […] when we don’t fight among ourselves, how my Kashmir progresses on the global stage.”

The PPP chairman then went on to call Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “coward”, saying that he had been “hiding his face from the world” following the four-day conflict between Pakistan and India in May. Meanwhile, Bilawal said, Pakistan’s diplomatic standing had improved.

He also slammed Modi over a “conspiracy to undermine the relationship between Pakistan and the people of Azad Kashmir”.

“I want to tell Modi that you lost the war, and God willing, this conspiracy of yours will also be unsuccessful. No one can undermine the relationship between the PPP and the public of Azad Kashmir,” Bilawal added.

Prosperity of AJK’s people among Centre’s priorities: Shehbaz

Earlier today, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif assured newly elected Rathore that the prosperity and progress of the region were among the federal government’s top priorities.

In a phone call, PM Shehbaz conveyed his heartfelt congratulations to Rathore on being chosen as the new premier of AJK, state-run PTV News reported.

“The progress and prosperity of AJK’s people are among the federal government’s priorities,” the prime minister was quoted as saying.

He further assured Rathore that the Centre was determined to work with the AJK government for the “welfare, economic development, prosperity, and peace and security” of the region’s public.

PM Shehbaz pledged that the federal government will provide “every possible cooperation” to the AJK set-up. He also expressed his best wishes to the PM-elect for his tenure.

Rathore is AJK’s fourth premier in the last four years, and the 16th since 1975 when the parliamentary form of government was introduced in the region.

The no-confidence vote against Chaudhry had sailed through on Monday with 36 votes from PPP and PML-N members, while two PTI opposition members voted against it.

Under the AJK Constitution, a note of no-confidence against the sitting prime minister automatically counts as a vote in favour of the lawmaker proposed as his successor in the same resolution.

After his election yesterday, the 47-year-old PM-elect announced several administrative measures, including a downsizing process, a new transport policy for officials, and limiting the number of secretaries to 20. He also pledged to address public issues and cater to the needs of low-paid staff.