PPP nominates Chaudhry Yasin for AJK PM slot ahead of possible in-house change

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has finalised Chaudhry Yasin as its candidate for the slot of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) prime minister in anticipation of a possible in-house change.

According to sources, the PPP’s central leadership approved Yasin’s name during a meeting chaired by Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. The session was also attended by the PPP’s AJK leadership.

Four names were reportedly discussed for the position — Chaudhry Yasin, Latif Akbar, Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, and Sardar Yaqoob Khan — before Bilawal announced Yasin as the final nominee. The party is expected to formally announce his candidacy later tonight.

A few days earlier, President Asif Ali Zardari met with the government’s Kashmir Affairs Committee in Islamabad, which included senior leaders from the PPP, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and AJK. The meeting discussed the region’s political situation and the prospects of an in-house change.

Following the meeting, Federal Minister for Planning and senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal told the media that his party had decided not to join the AJK government. “We will sit in the opposition and support the PPP in the no-confidence motion,” he said.

Sources said that a no-confidence motion will be tabled against Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq if he refuses to resign.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has announced its support for the PPP’s motion but decided not to become part of the new government.

The AJK Legislative Assembly currently has 52 members following the resignation of one member.

A simple majority requires the support of 27 lawmakers. The PPP has 17 members, while the PML-N holds nine.

Ten members from Barrister Sultan’s group and the Forward Bloc have extended their support to the PPP, bringing the party’s total strength to 36 — well above the required majority of 27.

Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq’s group currently comprises 10 members, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) AJK has four, while the Muslim Conference and Jammu Kashmir Peoples Party (JKPP) hold one seat each.

Overseas seat member Muhammad Iqbal has already resigned. If the no-confidence motion fails, it cannot be moved again for six months.

Meanwhile, PTI Secretary-General Salman Akram Raja criticised both the PPP and PML-N, calling them “two sides of the same coin,” and said neither had a “genuine plan” for the opposition in the AJK Legislative Assembly.

To form a government in the AJK Assembly, the PPP requires the support of 27 members. The party initially had 17 members, but after 10 members from the PTI’s forward bloc announced their decision to join the PPP, the required number was secured.