The delay is linked to the PML-N’s demand for early elections; The term of the current assembly ends in July, 2 months before the elections
Internal change in Azad Jammu and Kashmir has been delayed as the Pakistan People’s Party high command is yet to nominate an alternative House leader in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Assembly, leading to repeated delays in tabling a no-confidence motion, sources say.
Despite claiming a numerical majority, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has struggled to assert its position for more than a week and a half. Sources indicate that the decision to move the no-confidence motion is expected only after PPP president Bilawal Bhutto Zardari returns to the country. Express News reported.
The delay is also reportedly related to the PML-N’s demand for early elections, which would prevent the PPP from gaining political advantage through internal changes.
The current assembly’s term ends in July, and two months before elections, all development work usually stops and authority over appointments and transfers is revoked.
Read: Bilawal says PPP is in strong position to form government in AJK
Sources say the PML-N is adamant about holding elections in March, meaning a new government would lose powers in January, two months before the vote. In December and January, the PPP would not be able to achieve its political objectives. The party’s insistence on completing the assembly term is said to be a key reason behind the deadlock.
Meanwhile, around 80% of AJK’s development budget remains unspent, and some 2,000 immediate hire positions, along with initiatives such as health cards, could offer political leverage to a new government.
Bilawal has asserted that the party is in a strong position to form the government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir as the incumbent prime minister faces a no-confidence motion.
The PPP earlier announced its intention to form the government in AJK during a meeting chaired by President Asif Ali Zardari. The party’s Azad Kashmir Parliamentary Group also met in Islamabad to discuss the political landscape.
Read more: PPP wins simple majority to form government in AJK
On October 26, ten members of the PTI’s forward bloc in AJK announced their decision to join the PPP, allowing the party to obtain the required majority. The next day, the PPP and PML-N agreed to move a no-confidence motion against the AJK government. PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said his party would support the opposition benches’ motion.
However, a day later, in a surprise move, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf announced that it would disassociate itself from the opposition alliance’s no-confidence motion against the AJK prime minister and the subsequent process to elect a new prime minister, calling the move a “political game” aimed at undermining public representation.
