A resolution for a no-confidence vote was presented to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly Special Secretary Amjed Latif Abbasi on Friday.
On October 27, PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira announced that his party and the PML-N had agreed to move a no-confidence motion against the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government. The AJK Legislative Assembly has 52 members and to achieve a simple majority, a party needs the support of 27 members.
Earlier today, the PPP floated the name of Faisal Rathore as its candidate for the territory’s chief minister’s post, its AJK party president said.
The resolution was handed over to Abbasi by PPP legislators Chaudhry Qasim Majeed, Sardar Javed Ayoub, Malik Zafar Iqbal and Chaudhry Ali Shan Soni.
Assembly Secretary Chaudhry Basharat Hussain, a relative of AJK Chief Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, did not attend his office on Friday.
The resolution signed by 25 legislators, 23 from the PPP and two from the PML-N – its regional president Shah Ghulam Qadir and his predecessor Raja Farooq Haider – accused Haq of having “lost the confidence of the Legislative Assembly”.
“We, the undersigned members of the Legislative Assembly, in accordance with Article 18 (4) of the Interim Constitution, hereby present a motion of no confidence, holding that the current Prime Minister [Chaudhry] Anwarul Haq has not only lost the confidence of the Legislative Assembly, but has also inflicted serious damage to the constitutional, ideological and democratic framework of the State, through his style of governance, political narrative and confrontational conduct,” it said.
“We, the proponents, recognize Faisal Mumtaz Rathore as the prime ministerial candidate and call for the early completion of the electoral process in accordance with constitutional and democratic requirements, so that the continuity of government formation remains intact,” the resolution added.
The resolution had left the section naming the proposed new leader blank while signatures were collected. Rathore’s name was handwritten on the document before it was sent.
Furthermore, 19 of the 25 signatories were members of Haq’s own cabinet and none resigned even after the no-confidence motion was tabled.
When a journalist asked Malik Zafar Iqbal why they had not resigned, he replied: “Our decisions are taken by our central leadership and no such directive has been issued so far.”
Meanwhile, President Chaudhry Latif Akbar called the Legislative Assembly to meet at 3 pm on Monday to vote on the resolution.
PPP AJK Chairman Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin while speaking to the media in front of Zardari House in Islamabad today along with PPP leader Raja Pervez Ashraf said, “Our President has decided… that Faisal Rathore, who is the General Secretary of our party in AJK, will be nominated for the post of Prime Minister.”
He explained that “we are going to present the motion of no confidence today, so God willing, in the next few days the PPP will have its government in AJK.”
“Voting will begin on Monday,” he said later in response to a question.
“Faisal Rathore is an educated young man; he is very experienced and has been part of the assembly before,” Ashraf said.
Before announcing the nomination, Ashraf told the media that the party had taken an “excellent decision,” reaffirming that the PPP “remains committed to the people of Kashmir.”
“Right now we want to alleviate their difficulties and pave the way for the next elections,” he said.
Chaudhry echoed similar thoughts, stating that generations of party leaders had “always taken a firm stance on Kashmir”.
Before making the announcement, Chaudhry said: “We have the required number (in the legislative assembly), I think we have the golden number.”
Ashraf told the media that the PPP was “the largest parliamentary party (in the legislative assembly) and we have the support of our allies.”
He expressed confidence that his party “is in a position to form a government,” noting that they had the necessary “strength.”
He continued, “The PPP will bring peace to Kashmir and alleviate its difficulties; the promises made to the Action Committee will also be fulfilled.”
On October 28, sources had said Sunrise that the names of Chaudhry Latif Akbar, Chaudhry Yasin, Rathore and Sardar Yaqub were being considered for the first position.
According to the AJK Constitution, sponsors of a no-confidence resolution must appoint a successor to the incumbent prime minister.
Who is Faisal Rathore?
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 President Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Faryal Talpur and is considered a representative of the ideological and middle-class cadre of the party.
