In an unexpected turn of events in the early hours of Thursday, Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq, a member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) forward bloc, was chosen unopposed as the 15th Prime Minister (PM) of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
The largest mandate in the history of the Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly was won by Chaudhry, who received 48 votes out of a total of 52 members. Four lawmakers, including two PTI members, Sardar Hassan Ibrahim of the Jammu Kashmir Peoples Party, and Sardar Atiq of the Muslim Conference, did not cast a vote.
The development occurred after Sardar Tanveer Ilyas was removed from office by the AJK High Court in a case involving contempt.
An assembly session held to choose a new prime minister earlier in the day was adjourned without a vote being cast.
A number of prominent PTI figures went to Muzafarrabad and attempted to mediate conflicts between the rival factions commanded by Tanveer Ilyas and Barrister Sultan Mehmood, but without success.
The former PM of AJK and PTI Chairman Imran Khan met in Lahore, but the party did not put out a candidate for the coveted position.
However, the AJK Legislative Assembly called an emergency session in the early hours of Thursday to elect the prime minister.
Only 15 minutes were provided for interested candidates to submit their nomination papers before voting began.
Due to the absence of any other candidates filing nomination papers, Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq was elected without a challenger. A coalition of PTI members and opposition parties, notably the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supported his election.
In his first address to the legislature after being elected, he declared that he ran for office as an independent candidate and emphasized that he received support from both PDM and PTI members.
Additionally, Chaudhry established a power-sharing plan with the opposition parties after connecting with them.
In a statement, senior PPP leader Faisal Karim Kundi praised Anwar-ul-Haq for winning the election without opposition and referred to it as a "farewell to the PTI government in AJK."
The largest mandate in the history of the Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly was won by Chaudhry, who received 48 votes out of a total of 52 members. Four lawmakers, including two PTI members, Sardar Hassan Ibrahim of the Jammu Kashmir Peoples Party, and Sardar Atiq of the Muslim Conference, did not cast a vote.
The development occurred after Sardar Tanveer Ilyas was removed from office by the AJK High Court in a case involving contempt.
An assembly session held to choose a new prime minister earlier in the day was adjourned without a vote being cast.
A number of prominent PTI figures went to Muzafarrabad and attempted to mediate conflicts between the rival factions commanded by Tanveer Ilyas and Barrister Sultan Mehmood, but without success.
The former PM of AJK and PTI Chairman Imran Khan met in Lahore, but the party did not put out a candidate for the coveted position.
However, the AJK Legislative Assembly called an emergency session in the early hours of Thursday to elect the prime minister.
Only 15 minutes were provided for interested candidates to submit their nomination papers before voting began.
Due to the absence of any other candidates filing nomination papers, Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq was elected without a challenger. A coalition of PTI members and opposition parties, notably the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supported his election.
In his first address to the legislature after being elected, he declared that he ran for office as an independent candidate and emphasized that he received support from both PDM and PTI members.
Additionally, Chaudhry established a power-sharing plan with the opposition parties after connecting with them.
In a statement, senior PPP leader Faisal Karim Kundi praised Anwar-ul-Haq for winning the election without opposition and referred to it as a "farewell to the PTI government in AJK."