ISLAMABAD; Political activity in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) gained fresh momentum on Sunday as ten members of the Legislative Assembly, all originally elected on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) tickets in the 2021 general elections, announced their decision to join the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). The development has strengthened the PPP’s bid for the region’s premiership.
The defection followed a series of meetings between PPP lawmakers from AJK and the party’s central leadership — Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and President Asif Ali Zardari — held a day earlier in Islamabad to discuss the ouster of incumbent Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq.
With these new additions, the PPP has now become the single largest party in the 53-member AJK Legislative Assembly, commanding the support of 27 members. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) holds nine seats, the PTI retains only five, and two smaller regional parties have one seat each. The Haq-led group of PTI dissidents now stands reduced to ten members.
PPP lawmaker Chaudhry Qasim Majeed confirmed the development, saying the party is now in a “comfortable position” to replace Prime Minister Haq with its own leader. He stated that ten PTI legislators met PPP leader Faryal Talpur at Zardari House in Islamabad, where they announced their decision to join the PPP in joint and separate meetings.
Among those joining were Yasir Sultan (son of AJK President Barrister Sultan Mahmood), his brother-in-law Chaudhry Arshad, Chaudhry Akhlaque from Mirpur, Chaudhry Muhammad Rasheed from Muzaffarabad, and Sardar Muhammad Hussain from Poonch. Later, Zafar Iqbal Malik from Kotli, Abdul Majid Khan, Chaudhry Akbar Ibrahim, Asim Sharif Butt, and Sardar Faheem Rabbani also joined.
All ten lawmakers are part of Haq’s current cabinet, though only the three refugee representatives had earlier announced resignations, which have not yet been formally notified.
PPP regional president Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin did not attend the meetings with Talpur. Majeed revealed that the party’s parliamentary group held two key sessions on Saturday — one with Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, where the decision to remove Haq was made unanimously, and another with President Zardari to inform him of the move.
Majeed also claimed that more legislators could join the PPP in the coming days, further solidifying its majority.
Meanwhile, PML-N regional president Shah Ghulam Qadir announced that his party would stay out of the government formation process and sit on the opposition benches.
Majeed confirmed that President Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif were in contact regarding the evolving political situation in AJK. However, he did not disclose who would be nominated as the new prime minister, saying that decision rests with the PPP leadership.
On the other hand, Works and Communications Minister Chaudhry Azhar Sadiq, a close aide to PM Haq, said the prime minister had no intention of dissolving the assembly. He remarked that while the Constitution allows Haq to do so, he prefers to step down voluntarily if his opponents secure the required 27 votes for a no-confidence motion.
All PPP members were expected to gather at the Sindh House in Islamabad on Sunday night to display their political strength.
