A no-confidence motion against Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq has succeeded in the AJK Legislative Assembly, and Faisal Mumtaz Rathore has been elected the new prime minister.
According to details, Faisal Mumtaz Rathore secured 36 votes. The motion received 36 votes in favour and two against, leading to his election as the AJK prime minister.
Earlier, PPP lawmaker Qasim Majeed had moved the no-confidence motion in the assembly.
The motion had been submitted to the Assembly Secretariat on Friday afternoon with the signatures of 25 members, 23 from the Pakistan Peoples Party and two from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.
The session, chaired by Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar, was attended by members of the PPP and PML-N, as well as Leader of the Opposition Khawaja Farooq Ahmed.
Shortly after the session began, outgoing Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq entered the house accompanied by four members and exchanged greetings with the PPP’s nominated candidate, Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore.
On Sunday, two ministers from the PTI forward bloc, Deewan Ali Chughtai and Taqdees Kausar Gilani, joined the PPP after meeting Faryal Talpur, sister of President Asif Ali Zardari, raising the party’s strength to 29.
In October as well, ten members from the PTI forward bloc had joined the PPP, increasing its numbers to 27.
Since a simple majority in the AJK Legislative Assembly requires 27 members, the PPP now holds a clear lead.
Under the AJK Constitution, a vote cast in a no-confidence motion is automatically counted in favour of the member nominated as the alternative prime minister in the same resolution.
Therefore, upon the motion’s approval, Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore stood elected unopposed as the new prime minister — marking the fourth change of premiership during the current assembly’s tenure.
The assembly, formed in 2021, has already seen three prime ministers. Initially, the PTI elected Abdul Qayyum Niazi with 35 votes, but he resigned nine months later, after which Sardar Tanveer Ilyas became prime minister.
