Eight-member AJK cabinet takes oath, portfolios to be assigned next

MUZAFFARABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Friday completed a key phase of government formation as eight newly elected ministers took oath at a ceremony held at the President’s House in Muzaffarabad.

AJK Acting President Chaudhry Tariq Farooq administered the oath to the ministers in the presence of Prime Minister Barrister Syed Iftikhar Ali Gillani, former prime minister Raja Farooq Haider, PML-N AJK President Shah Ghulam Qadir, lawmakers and senior government officials.

Colonel (retd) Waqar Noor, AzSadiq, Abdul Rehman Arain, Raja Saqib Majeed, Dr Mustafa Bashir Abbasi, Raja Riyasat, Sardar Mir Akbar and Umair Naeem took the oath as ministers.

The portfolios of the newly inducted ministers have not yet been formally allocated and are expected to be announced at the next stage of the government formation process.

The oath-taking of the eight ministers marks the completion of the first phase of cabinet formation under Gillani, who was elected the 17th prime minister of AJK on August 28.

Gillani, the PML-N nominee, secured 30 votes in the 45-member AJK Legislative Assembly, with 44 votes cast in the election. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) candidate Sardar Mukhtar Ahmed Abbasi received 14 votes.

The election brought the PML-N back to power in AJK after a decade.

Gillani had earlier served in the AJK cabinet and later faced a period outside the government before returning to frontline politics and securing the party’s nomination for the top office.

In his maiden address after being elected prime minister, Gillani acknowledged the challenges facing the region and pledged to focus on employment generation, merit-based recruitment, transparency, curbing corruption and development of the digital economy.

He also expressed concern over the delay in elections to seven assembly seats in Poonch and Sudhnoti districts, saying he hoped the remaining electoral process would be completed and the AJK Legislative Assembly would attain its full strength.

Gillani had said that he was prepared to work “around the clock” if required to fulfil the confidence placed in him by the party leadership, lawmakers and the people of AJK.

The new administration faces challenges ranging from employment and economic management to healthcare, education, infrastructure and public service delivery.

The prime minister has also pledged to improve transparency and strengthen mechanisms for addressing citizens’ grievances.

PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif has separately handed Gillani a 100-day reform agenda, calling for immediate action in health, education and infrastructure and urging the AJK government to accelerate development and address public grievances.

The induction of the ministers is expected to pave the way for the new government to move from the formation stage to implementing its policy and development priorities, once portfolios are assigned.