MUZAFFARABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) nominee Dr Muhammad Najeeb Naqi has been elected president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) for a five-year term.
Naqi secured 32 votes in Thursday’s presidential election held at the AJK Legislative Assembly Secretariat, defeating Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate Chaudhry Latif Akbar, who received 13 votes.
The PML-N nominee received 31 votes from his party’s lawmakers, while one additional vote came from a member of the Jammu Kashmir Awami Dast-o-Bazu (JKADB). One Assembly member remained absent from the election.
Under the AJK Constitution, the president is elected by members of the Legislative Assembly through a majority of the House’s total membership. The 46-member Assembly currently has 31 PML-N lawmakers and 14 PPP members, excluding the speaker.
Presidential post vacant since January
The election filled the constitutional office that had remained vacant since January following the death of Barrister Sultan Mahmood.
Before Thursday’s election, Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar had served as acting president. The role was later assumed by Speaker Chaudhry Tariq Farooq after his election as speaker on August 25.
Naqi, a former health minister, has held the portfolio in previous AJK governments. He served as health minister from 2006 to 2011 and later held the same position in the PML-N government from 2016 to 2021.
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PML-N holds majority in AJK Assembly
The PML-N emerged as the largest party in the recent AJK general elections, winning 25 of the 38 directly elected seats, while the PPP secured 12. The remaining directly elected seat went to the Awami Dast-o-Bazu party, whose member later joined hands with the PML-N.
After elections to reserved seats, the PML-N’s strength rose to 31 members and the PPP’s to 14 in the 46-member House.
Earlier, PML-N leader Iftikhar Gilani was elected AJK prime minister after securing 30 votes in the Legislative Assembly. He later took oath as the region’s prime minister on August 28.
The election of Naqi completes the process of filling the top constitutional offices of the newly formed AJK government following the recent legislative elections.
