Five ministers from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Azad Kashmir Forward Bloc have announced their decision to join the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
The ministers met with Faryal Talpur and Chaudhry Riaz, during which they formally declared their inclusion in the PPP.
In addition, Azad Kashmir’s Minister for Higher Education, Zafar Iqbal Malik, has also joined the PPP after meeting with Faryal Talpur and Chaudhry Riaz. With his inclusion, the number of PPP members in the Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly has increased to 23.
It is worth noting that a day earlier, President Asif Ali Zardari had approved bringing a no-confidence motion and forming a government in Azad Kashmir.
To form a government in the Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly, the PPP needs the support of 27 members. The party previously had 17 members, which has now increased to 23 after the inclusion of the six new members.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) currently holds nine seats in the assembly.
It is worth mentioning that President Asif Ali Zardari reportedly contacted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss the formation of a new government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
As per reports, Zardari conveyed PPP’s intentions of forming the government to Shehbaz, after which the prime minister directed the PML-N AJK Affairs Committee to engage with the PPP on the matter.
The PML-N committee, comprising Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanaullah, and Amir Muqam, has started internal consultations with the party’s AJK chapter before formal talks with the PPP.
However, former AJK prime minister and PML-N parliamentary leader Raja Farooq Haider made it clear that the party would not take part in the government formation process and would sit in the opposition. He stressed that the decision was final and would not be changed.
