ISLAMABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Assembly on Monday ousted Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq in a no-trust vote, the region’s press information department (PID) announced, with Faisal Rathore taking over as the new premier.
The transition comes after internal rifts over governance, resource allocations and allegations of administrative disconnect, which ultimately eroded confidence in the outgoing prime minister.
The AJK Assembly convened for a decisive session presided over by Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar, amid heightened political activity and weeks of lobbying by competing factions.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) lawmaker Qasim Majeed tabled the no-trust motion against PM Haq, which was favored by 36 members of the House and opposed by two regional lawmakers.
“Pakistan Peoples Party candidate Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore was elected as the leader of the House by getting 36 votes,” the PID announced on Monday evening.
Under the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Constitution, a vote of no confidence against a premier counts as a vote in favor of the lawmaker named as his successor in the same resolution.
Rathore is the 16th prime minister elected in AJK since 1975, when the parliamentary form of government was introduced in the region. His election comes nearly eight months before the completion of the assembly’s term, while he is also the fourth prime minister of Azad Kashmir in four years.
In August 2021, Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi became the premier after he was nominated for the slot by former Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. He, however, resigned after nine months and was replaced by PTI’s Sardar Tanveer Ilyas. In April 2023, Tanveer was disqualified by the AJK High Court over contempt, with Haq replacing him as leader of the AJK Assembly.
