PPP leadership to decide AJK PM after party fails to reach consensus: soruces

MUZAFFARABAD: The parliamentary party meeting of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) ended without any breakthrough as internal divisions over the nomination of the next AJK Prime Minister persisted, sources told ARY News.

According to sources, deep rifts remain within the PPP’s AJK parliamentary party, which is reportedly divided into three major groups — one led by Sardar Yaqoob Khan, another by Chaudhry Latif Akbar, and the third by Chaudhry Yasin. Despite repeated efforts, the central PPP leadership has so far failed to bring unity among the factions.

Sources said both factions refused to withdraw their support for their respective candidates, leading to a deadlock. The meeting concluded without a consensus on a single nominee for the top office.

The PPP leadership, after failing to persuade the divided parliamentary party, has now decided to take the final decision on the AJK Prime Minister’s nomination itself, party sources added.

It is expected that the central leadership will announce the name of the new Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir in Muzaffarabad in the coming days.

Earlier, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had agreed to remove the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government through a no-confidence motion, following detailed consultations with President Asif Ali Zardari on the region’s political instability.

The committee, comprising Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanaullah, and Amir Muqam, briefed the president on the latest political developments in AJK. Sources said the meeting focused on bringing political stability and reviewing the possibility of an in-house change in the region.

Following the meeting, senior leaders from both the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) spoke to the media and confirmed that important decisions had been taken regarding the current AJK government.

Former Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said the Prime Minister had constituted a committee to address the political instability in Azad Kashmir. “The committee met the President today to brief him on the evolving situation,” he added.