ISLAMABAD: PML-N’s AJK Affairs Committee tasked with initiating talks with PPP, President Asif Ali Zardari has reached out to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss the formation of a Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
According to reports emerging on Sunday, President Zardari held a telephone conversation with the prime minister to exchange views on the evolving political situation in AJK. Following the discussion, PM Shehbaz directed the Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz (PML-N) AJK Affairs Committee to begin formal negotiations with the PPP.
Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal has been named as the committee’s head, while Adviser to the PM Rana Sanaullah and Amir Muqam will serve as its members. Before engaging with PPP leaders, the committee started internal consultations with the PML-N’s AJK chapter to align the party’s stance.
PPP Prepares to Move No-Confidence Motion
The development comes shortly after President Zardari chaired a meeting of the PPP’s AJK parliamentary group at the Presidency, where he endorsed a plan to table a no-confidence motion against AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq.
Party sources within the PPP claimed that the numbers required to move the motion have already been secured. Names under consideration for the next AJK prime minister include Chaudhry Yasin, Chaudhry Yaqoob, and Chaudhry Latif Akbar.
PPP AJK Information Secretary Sardar Javed Ayub confirmed that the party is ready to form the next government, while Sardar Tanveer Ilyas suggested that the PML-N, being in power federally, should be represented in the AJK cabinet as well.
Meanwhile, the incumbent AJK premier has begun consultations with his close allies to decide whether to step down voluntarily or contest the no-confidence motion. A final decision on his course of action is expected within the next few days.
