Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Friday nominated Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore as the new Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
Raja Faisal Rathore is also the General Secretary of the Pakistan People’s Party, Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The AJK Minister and PPP leader has extensive experience in politics with deep roots in Azad Kashmir; his family is considered one of the founders of the Pakistan Peoples Party in Azad Kashmir.
Faisal Rathore is the son of former Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir Mumtaz Hussain Rathore and Begum Farhat Rathore, who herself was a member of the Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly and the President of the PPP Women’s Wing.
His father, Mumtaz Hussain Rathore, served as a Senior Minister after the 1975 elections, Prime Minister in 1990, Leader of the Opposition in 1991, and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in 1996.
After the death of Mumtaz Hussain Rathore, his eldest son, Masood Mumtaz Rathore, was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the remaining term in 1999.
Faisal Rathore received his early education from Rawalpindi and completed his graduation from Punjab University.
Faisal Rathore first contested elections from LA-17 Haveli Kahuta in 2006. In the 2011 elections, he was elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly on a Pakistan Peoples Party ticket and served as the Minister of Education and Minister of Electricity in the cabinet of Chaudhry Abdul Majeed. In 2016, he was arrested in a political case, but was later found innocent.
On March 23, 2017, Faisal Rathore was appointed Secretary General of the Pakistan Peoples Party Azad Kashmir, and has held this position to this day.
He was elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly for the second time in the 2021 elections and played a strong opposition role.
In 2023, he was elected as the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development in the coalition government of Chaudhry Anwarul Haq and was also appointed as the head of the negotiation committee with the Awami Action Committee.
Faisal Mumtaz Rathore is popular among political and military circles, the Awami Action Committee, and the public due to his conciliatory, soft-spoken, and non-controversial personality.
No-truct motion submitted
Earlier on Friday, PPP submitted a no-confidence motion against Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwaarul Haq in the AJK Legislative Assembly.
According to details, due to the absence of Secretary AJK Assembly Chaudhry Basharat, the no-confidence motion against the AJK PM was submitted by Chaudhry Qasim Majeed and Malik Zafar to Special Secretary of the AJK Legislative Assembly Amjad Abbasi.
The Pakistan People’s Party has established frequent contacts with other members of the parliament in a bid to secure the required votes.
As many as 14 signatures of the MLAs were required on the no-confidence motion before it is filed in the Assembly Secretariat.
PPP leader Javed Ayub said there were 17 signatures on the motion which are more than the required numbers.
Talking to the media men, he said the name of the successor has been finalized and a closed envelop has been forwarded to the relevant authorities in this regard.
Earlier, the Pakistan People’s Party has directed all its members to reach Muzaffarabad at the earliest. The PPP also finalized its strategy in the Assembly during an emergency meeting of the parliamentary party.
Important developments are expected in the House today amid political turmoil.
Earlier on November 3, 2025, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had postponed the no-confidence motion against AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwaarul Haq.
The party has decided to change its political strategy in Azad Kashmir after realizing that the likelihood of success for the motion was low.
