The cabinet includes 18 members and two advisors to Prime Minister Raja Mumtaz Rathore.
The new AJK cabinet members will be sworn in on Wednesday in Muzaffarabad. Photo: Online
A 20-member Azad Jammu and Kashmir cabinet, including two advisors, was sworn in after its formation in accordance with an agreement reached with the Awami Joint Action Committee, which called for the size of the cabinet not to exceed 20 members.
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Acting President Chaudhry Latif Akbar administered oath to 18 ministers at a ceremony in Muzaffarabad on Wednesday, while Prime Minister Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore administered oath to the two advisors. A minister has been included in the new cabinet.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by former AJK President and Prime Minister Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob Khan, former Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan, Chief Secretary, Inspector General of Police, Departmental Secretaries and a large number of Pakistan People’s Party workers.
The ministers who took oath were Mian Abdul Waheed, Sardar Javed Ayub, Javed Iqbal Budhanvi, Chaudhry Arshad Hussain, Chaudhry Muhammad Rasheed, Ali Shan Soni, Syed Bazil Ali Naqvi, Sardar Muhammad Hussain Khan, Chaudhry Yasir Sultan, Chaudhry Ikhlaq Ahmed, Chaudhry Aamir Yasin, Sardar Ziaul Qamar, Zafar Iqbal Malik, Diwan Ali Khan Chughtai, Chaudhry Muhammad Rafiq Nair, Chaudhry Qasim Majeed, Sardar Faheem Akhtar Rabbani and Mrs. Nabila Ayub.
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Prime Minister Rathore administered oath to Sardar Ahmed Sagheer and Sardar Fahad Yaqoob as advisors to the government. During the ceremony, Secretary General Services and Administration Zafar Mehmood Khan read out the official notification of appointments.
With the inauguration of the new cabinet, the government has completed a key stage in its formation. Officials said the administration remains committed to honoring the agreement with the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) and addressing public demands in the future.
After a deadly protest that left 10 dead in October, the government reached an agreement with the JAAC to reduce tensions and address public complaints.
As per the agreement, the size of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir cabinet will be capped at 20 members, including ministers and advisors. The pact also restricts the number of administrative secretaries to no more than 20 at any given time.
Faisal Mumtaz Rathore of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) was on Monday elected the 16th Chief Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), after Chaudhry Anwarul Haq was removed through a no-confidence motion in the state’s Legislative Assembly.
The PPP ensured the victory of its candidate with the support of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Rathore received 36 votes in the 53-member assembly, where only 44 legislators were present.
