- The president approved the motion of censure.
- PML-N forms committee led by Ahsan Iqbal.
- The AJK assembly needs 27 seats to govern.
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari spoke over phone with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss the political situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), sources said. Geographic news on Sunday, as the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) moves to form a new government in the territory.
According to sources, President Zardari entrusted Prime Minister Shehbaz with the PPP decision and the strategy for government formation in AJK.
After the call, the prime minister tasked the PML-N committee on AJK affairs, chaired by Ahsan Iqbal and comprising Rana Sanaullah and Amir Muqam, with the task of holding talks with the PPP. The committee has started consultations with the AJK chapter of the PML-N, the sources added.
On the other hand, PML-N parliamentary leader and former AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider reiterated his party’s stance that it will sit in the opposition and will not be part of any government formation in AJK.
He told the party’s parliamentary meeting that the decision to remain in the opposition remains and that there is no room for change.
In Islamabad, PPP leaders held separate meetings chaired by President Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari as the party moved to finalize its course of action, sources said on Saturday.
The session at the President House, attended by Bilawal, Faryal Talpur, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Qamar Zaman Kaira, approved moving a no-confidence motion against the incumbent AJK chief minister, sources said. The president is expected to finalize the party’s appointment for the post of AJK prime minister after further consultations.
Party sources confirmed that Bilawal would formally announce the government formation plan on Monday. PPP insiders said the party is considering Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin and Chaudhry Latif Akbar among the names for the post of AJK chief minister. Chaudhry Yasin told reporters that the party had made a “final decision” to form a government and that the leadership would determine the candidate.
The AJK Legislative Assembly has 52 members and a simple majority requires 27 votes. Currently, the PPP has 17 seats, the PML-N nine and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf four; the Muslim Conference and the Jammu Kashmir People’s Party each have one member.
Within the assembly there is also an advance block of twenty members. To reach the 27-member threshold, the PPP needs additional support; with the support of the PML-N, its total would increase to 26 seats. While PML-N’s AJK president Shah Ghulam Qadir announced that his party will sit in opposition, the PPP has intensified contacts with members of the advanced bloc to secure the numbers needed for government formation.
Sources said AJK Chief Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq has started consultations amid an expected internal change that could happen through resignation or a no-confidence motion.
According to sources, the prime minister is likely to take an important decision within 48 hours. PPP leaders said they have secured the numbers necessary to present and pass a no-confidence motion if the incumbent refuses to resign, although the party has not yet publicly demonstrated the required assembly strength.
Kaira, speaking outside Zardari House, described the situation in AJK as “concerning for all parties” and said the party would hold further consultations with the president before making formal public announcements.
He added that while there was talk that PML-N had decided to join the opposition, the PPP had not received formal notification on that matter at that time.
With negotiations underway and the PPP leadership having authorized a no-confidence motion, party sources said major political developments were expected in the coming days. Bilawal is due to make a formal announcement on Monday about the party’s plans and the name of the chosen candidate.
