Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif on Thursday nominated Barrister Syed Iftikhar Ali Gilani as the party’s candidate for the office of prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
Nawaz directed Gilani to submit his nomination papers for the election of the AJK prime minister, PML-N leader Marriyum Aurangzeb confirmed to Geo News.
Aurangzeb said Gilani’s nomination as the PML-N candidate for the AJK premiership was made with Nawaz’s approval.
Gilani was elected to the AJK Legislative Assembly on the reserved seat for technocrats as the PML-N secured six of the eight reserved seats, further strengthening its position in the house.
The eight reserved seats included five for women and one each for technocrats, Ulema and Mashaikh, and overseas Kashmiris.
The PML-N won three of the five women’s seats, besides securing the technocrat, Ulema and Mashaikh, and overseas Kashmiri seats. The PPP won the remaining two seats reserved for women.
PML-N candidates Seharish Qamar, Maryam Zaman and Maryam Idrees were elected on the three women’s reserved seats, while PPP candidates Farzana Yaqub and Zobia Khurshid won the other two.
In one of the contests, Zobia Khurshid and Rifat Abid secured five votes each, following which Khurshid was declared successful through a draw.
Besides Gilani’s victory on the technocrat seat, PML-N candidate Pir Mazhar Saeed Shah won the reserved seat for Ulema and Mashaikh, while Abdul Rehman Arain was elected on the seat reserved for overseas Kashmiris.
The results took the PML-N’s strength in the AJK Legislative Assembly to 31 seats, while the PPP’s tally reached 14. With the support of one member of the Jammu and Kashmir Awami Dast-o-Bazu (JK ADB), the PML-N now has the backing of 32 members.
However, the government formation process is proceeding without seven members, as elections in seven constituencies in Poonch and Sudhnoti districts have yet to be held.
The PML-N had already emerged as the largest party in the recently concluded three-phase general elections, securing 25 seats against the PPP’s 11.
In the first phase, held in 13 constituencies of Mirpur Division, the PML-N won nine seats while the PPP secured four.
The PML-N further strengthened its position in the second phase, conducted on August 2 across eight constituencies of Muzaffarabad Division and all 12 refugee constituencies, winning 15 seats compared with the PPP’s six.
The third and final phase saw results from two constituencies, with one seat each going to the PML-N and PPP, taking their final general-election tallies to 25 and 11, respectively.
The elections, however, were accompanied by allegations of rigging from the PPP, which questioned the conduct of the polling process.
Following the second phase of voting, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari criticised the federal government and indicated that his party would intensify its political opposition.
The PML-N rejected the allegations, while Nawaz Sharif called on political stakeholders to refrain from turning political rivalries into enmity, expressing concern over the political atmosphere prevailing in the region.
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