MUZAFFARABAD: Newly elected President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Dr Najeeb Naqi, a member of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), has taken the oath at his swearing-in ceremony.
Naqi was elected president of the territory for a five-year term.
He secured victory in Thursday’s presidential election, defeating Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate Chaudhry Latif Akbar, following the polling held at the AJK Legislative Assembly.
Naqi secured 32 votes, including 31 votes from PML-N lawmakers and one from a member of the Jammu Kashmir Awami Dast-o-Bazu (JKADB).
PPP’s Akbar received 13 votes, while one Assembly member remained absent from the election.
The election fills the constitutional post that had remained vacant since January following the death of Barrister Sultan Mahmood.
The 46-member AJK Assembly has 31 PML-N lawmakers, excluding Speaker Chaudhry Tariq Farooq, while the PPP has 14 members.
Naqi served as AJK health minister from 2006 to 2011 and later held the same portfolio in the PML-N government from 2016 to 2021.
The PML-N emerged as the largest party in the recent AJK general elections, winning 25 seats, while the PPP secured 11.
Following the election of members on reserved seats, the PML-N’s strength rose to 31 and the PPP’s to 14. The Nawaz Sharif-led party also has an alliance with one member of the JKADB.
On August 28, PML-N leader Iftikhar Gilani was sworn in as the 17th prime minister of AJK after securing 30 votes in the Legislative Assembly. He defeated PPP candidate Sardar Mukhtar Khan, who received 14 votes.
