PML-N's Syed Iftikhar Ali Gillani elected new AJK prime minister

MUZAFFARABAD: PML-N’s Barrister Syed Iftikhar Ali Gillani was elected Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s prime minister on Friday, securing 30 of the 44 votes polled in the assembly.

His sole contender was PPP’s Sardar Mukhtar Ahmed Abbasi, who bagged 14 votes in the contest for the top office.

The AJK Assembly comprises 53 members, but its present strength is 46 — PML-N’s being 32, including its allies, and PPP’s 14 — because elections to seven seats in Poonch and Sudhnoti districts have yet to be held.

However, 44 votes were polled in Friday’s elections as the speaker did not cast his vote and PML-N regional president Shah Ghulam Qadir was not present in the assembly.

After the votes were counted, Speaker Chaudhry Tariq Farooq announced the result, declaring Gillani as the winner amid clapping and slogans from the galleries.

Gillani has succeeded PPP’s Rathore, who was elected as the prime minister in November 2025.

Qadir, along with former AJK premier Raja Farooq Haider, had previously opposed Gillani’s nomination for the post. However, when assembly proceedings began on Friday, Haider entered the House alongside Gillani.

Gillani’s nomination

PML-N’s decision to nominate Gillani was announced by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at a meeting with four senior PML-N leaders from AJK in Islamabad, late on Wednesday night.

The meeting, which took place at the Prime Min­ister’s House, was attended by PML-N AJK President Shah Ghulam Qadir, his predecessor and former AJK premier Raja Farooq Haider, the party’s regional secretary general and asse­mbly speaker, Chaudhry Tariq Farooq, and Deputy Spe­a­ker Ahmed Raza Qadri.

The prime minister was accompanied by his aide, Rana Sanaullah, and senior PML-N leader Saad Rafique.

Gillani was also invited to the PM House but did not join the meeting, where PM Shehbaz infor­med the visiting leaders that party supremo Nawaz Sharif had decided to nominate Gillani as the party’s candidate for the AJK premiership.

The decision, however, triggered a sharp reaction from Qadir and Haider, who reportedly expressed their disagreement and announced that they would not participate in Friday’s election process.

However, only Qadir did not participate in the election.

Speculation that Gillani could be chosen for the premiership had been rife since he was elected to the assembly on a reserved seat on Aug 24.

However, the party’s regional leadership believed that the formula followed in 2016, when Haider was elevated as prime minister, would be repeated this time as well.

Following the reaction of the two senior leaders, Sanaullah and Rafique held another meeting with them, but it remained inconclusive, sources told Dawn.

In a post-midnight message on X, Qadir assured the “self-respecting people of Azad Kashmir” that he would not compromise on their honour and dignity. “Nawaz Sharif’s slogan of giving respect to the vote will be ensured,” he added.

On Thursday afternoon, however, PML-N central information secretary and Punjab senior minister Marriyum Aurangzeb posted on X that PM Shehbaz had finalised Gillani as the party’s candidate and directed him to submit his nomination papers for election as AJK prime minister.

AJK polls

The elections in the region, originally scheduled for July 27, were divided into phases over security concerns amid unrest in the region. The first phase was held on July 27, the second on Aug 2 and the third on Aug 10.

Meanwhile, the third phase was originally meant to cover all of Poonch Division, which comprises 11 constituencies, including three in Bagh, one in Haveli, five in Poonch district and two in Sudhnoti district.

However, the AJK Election Commission announced that polling would only go ahead as scheduled in Bagh and Haveli because of concerns over the law and order situation.

So far, in the direct elections to 38 constituencies, the PML-N has secured 25 seats while the PPP won 12. The lone MLA-elect of the Awami Dast-o-Bazu party has also joined hands with the PML-N.

As for the reserved seats, the PML-N has bagged six and the PPP two.

The PPP has alleged widespread rigging and irregularities in the elections.