PML-N will not join new AJK government: Farooq Haider

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) parliamentary leader and former Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Raja Muhammad Farooq Haider Khan, has announced that the party will not participate in forming the AJK government.

Speaking in Muzaffarabad, he said the decision had been made to remain in opposition in the AJK Assembly.

“The PML-N will not be part of the government formation process in Azad Jammu and Kashmir,” Farooq Haider stated, adding that the party had unanimously decided to sit on the opposition benches.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is stepping up efforts to take charge of the AJK government. President Asif Ali Zardari has pledged to promote a politics of reconciliation and tolerance as PPP moves toward an in-house change in the assembly, ARY News reported.

According to sources, a high-level meeting of PPP AJK leaders was held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad. The meeting was attended by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Faryal Talpur, and other senior party figures.

During the session, the participants discussed matters related to AJK’s governance, the region’s political situation, and the PPP’s strategy for forming a new government.

Sources said President Zardari informed the AJK parliamentary party of the decision to take charge of the AJK government — calling it an “extraordinary and challenging step” for the party.

“The PPP is assuming responsibility in difficult circumstances,” Zardari was quoted as saying. “But I am confident the party will deliver in AJK just as it has in the past.”

He emphasised that the next Prime Minister of AJK would be an ordinary PPP worker and a true Jiyala, The president urged party members to avoid premature or unnecessary statements ahead of the transition and to focus on fostering reconciliation and political tolerance in the region.

After his brief formal address, sources said, President Zardari held an extended informal discussion with the delegation, during which AJK’s pressing issues and possible solutions were reviewed. He also sought suggestions on tackling challenges facing the region’s administration.