The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly is scheduled to hold a vote today (Monday) on the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq.
A special session of the assembly has been convened for 3pm, chaired by Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar. The resolution for the no-confidence motion was submitted to the assembly secretariat on Friday afternoon.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), led by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, has nominated Faisal Rathore as its candidate for AJK premier. Rathore also enjoys the backing of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Strict security arrangements have been put in place at the Assembly Secretariat, Ministers’ Block, and Prime Minister’s Secretariat.
Only assembly members and Secretariat staff will be allowed inside, while media access is restricted to those issued passes. All members will enter the House together.
The PPP moved to strengthen its government in the autonomous region following President Asif Ali Zardari’s political strategy announced last month.
The party expanded its presence in the Legislative Assembly when 10 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers joined the PPP on October 26 after a meeting with President Zardari’s sister, Faryal Talpur, at Zardari House in Islamabad.
Those who joined include Muhammad Hussain, Chaudhry Yasir, Chaudhry Muhammad Akhlaq, Chaudhry Arshad, Chaudhry Muhammad Rasheed, Zafar Iqbal Malik, Faheem Akhtar Rabbani, Abdul Majid Khan, Muhammad Akbar Ibrahim, and Asim Sharif Butt.
Later, the PML-N extended its support to the no-confidence motion, though it chose not to formally join the government.
The motion requires support from 27 lawmakers for a simple majority. With PML-N’s backing, the PPP claims to have secured 37 votes.
In the 2021 AJK general elections, PTI won 26 of the 45 constituencies. Including six reserved seats, PTI formed the government with 32 members in the 53-seat assembly.
On August 3, 2023, the region’s high court canceled the registration of PTI, PPP, and PML-N with the Azad Kashmir Election Commission for procedural lapses.
PPP and PML-N later restored their registration after completing the required formalities. PTI, however, remains unregistered.
Currently, 32 former PTI members hold independent status, with 28 joining PPP and PML-N. Because of this status, these members are not subject to the anti-floor-crossing law if they change political allegiance.
This no-confidence vote marks the seventh such motion in the history of Azad Jammu and Kashmir since 1975.
In 2021, PTI won the elections and formed the government. PTI founder Imran Khan appointed Sardar Qayyum Niazi as the prime minister.
Later, upon Qayyum Niazi’s refusal to resign, PTI tabled a no-confidence motion in 2022.
After its success, Sardar Tanveer Ilyas was elected Prime Minister. When Sardar Tanveer was disqualified in a contempt of court case, rebellion erupted within PTI.
On 22 April 2023, the then speaker of the assembly, Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq, presided over the session and was elected prime minister with the support of 48 assembly members.
If the vote of no-confidence is approved, joint PPP candidate Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore will become the 16th Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir.
