A no-confidence motion against Azad Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq was successful on Monday with 36 votes in favor and two against. Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar proclaimed PPP’s Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore as the new Prime Minister of AJK.
Rathore is the 16th prime minister elected in AJK since 1975, when the parliamentary form of government was introduced in the region.
Who is the new Prime Minister of AJK?
Rathore is currently the general secretary of the AJK chapter of the PPP and is considered a close confidant of PPP president Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.
Rathore, a leading figure in the AJK chapter of the PPP, has long been associated with the region’s politics.
Born on April 11, 1978 in Rawalpindi, he is the son of late Raja Mumtaz Hussain Rathore, former Prime Minister of AJK who also served as Chief Minister, Leader of the Opposition and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly at various stages of his political career.
His mother, Begum Farhat Rathore, belonged to a family of immigrants from Indian-occupied Kashmir; she was a member of the state legislature and headed the women’s wing of the PPP.
The Rathore family, based in the remote Haveli district of AJK, is considered one of the founding political families of the PPP in Azad Kashmir.
Rathore completed his early education in Rawalpindi and graduated from Punjab University. After the death of his father, his elder brother Masood Mumtaz Rathore was elected to the AJK Legislative Assembly in 1999 for the remainder of the term.
He first entered electoral politics in 2006 from LA-17 Haveli Kahuta. He won his first assembly seat in the 2011 general election on a PPP ticket and later served in the cabinet of then Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed as minister of AJK Logging and Sawmills Corporation and minister of Electricity.
In 2016, he was arrested in what was widely considered a politically motivated case, but was later exonerated.
The politician was appointed general secretary of the PPP AJK chapter on March 23, 2017, a position he continues to hold.
In the 2021 elections he returned to the assembly and remained an active voice in the opposition benches.
In 2023, Rathore joined the Haq-led coalition government as Minister of Local Government and Rural Development and was also tasked with heading the government’s negotiation committee with the Jammu Kashmir Awami Joint Action Committee.
Known for his soft, conciliatory and non-controversial character, he is seen as a figure who maintains working relationships in political and administrative circles. He has also worked in national media, hosting a regular program on a private television channel.
Within the PPP, he is considered a confidant of Faryal Talpur and is considered a representative of the ideological and middle-class cadre of the party.
