MUZAFFARABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Shah Ghulam Qadir and former AJK prime minister Raja Farooq Haider have rejected the decision to nominate Barrister Iftikhar Gilani as the next prime minister of Azad Kashmir, deepening divisions within the party ahead of the crucial election in the Legislative Assembly.
Shah Ghulam Qadir has gone a step further, saying he will neither vote for Iftikhar Gilani nor attend the AJK Legislative Assembly session convened on Friday to elect the new prime minister.
According to PML-N AJK sources, both Shah Ghulam Qadir and Raja Farooq Haider had opposed Gilani’s nomination during an important meeting held at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad on Wednesday in the presence of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The two leaders reportedly made their reservations clear and refused to endorse Gilani, who was elected to the AJK Legislative Assembly on a technocrat seat, for the office of prime minister.
Sources said the meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, focused on government formation in Azad Kashmir and the election of the new prime minister.
The party leadership also consulted the PML-N AJK leadership and other senior figures, but Shah Ghulam Qadir and Raja Farooq Haider maintained their opposition to the nomination.
Shah Ghulam Qadir has also expressed serious reservations over the decision taken by party supremo Nawaz Sharif.
He said the people of Azad Kashmir had given the PML-N a mandate and that their vote and political choice must be respected.
“I assure the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir that there will be no compromise on their respect, opinion or dignity,” he said, reiterating his commitment to Nawaz Sharif’s “Vote ko Izzat Do” (respect the vote) narrative.
PML-N sources said Shah Ghulam Qadir would consult senior party leaders and workers before announcing his future political strategy.
Further consultations with Raja Farooq Haider and other party leaders are also underway.
The sources confirmed that Shah Ghulam Qadir has decided to stay away from Friday’s Legislative Assembly session called to elect the AJK prime minister.
The development has triggered speculation about a fresh political realignment within the PML-N’s AJK chapter.
