PPP picks Chaudhry Yaseen as AJK PM candidate amid no-confidence move: Sources

MUZAFFARABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has chosen its candidate for the premiership of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), ARY News reported, citing sources.

PPP sources said that Chaudhry Yaseen will be the party’s candidate for the slot of AJK PM.

On the other hand, a no-confidence motion against the sitting Premier Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq will likely be presented today.

Chaudhry Yaseen began his political career in the 1990s on the platform of the PPP. The PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari appointed him president of the party’s AJK chapter in 2021.

Chaudhry Yaseen secured a victory in the elections from the constituency LA-10 Kotli.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will officially announce the nomination of Chaudhry Yaseen.

According to sources, the no-confidence motion against Anwarul Haq is expected to be submitted today, with nine PML-N lawmakers having already signed the resolution. Senior leaders Shah Ghulam Qadir and Raja Farooq Haider are among the signatories.

Meanwhile, PPP lawmakers signed the motion a day earlier, signaling growing coordination between opposition benches.

Sources further revealed that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had given the AJK prime minister until Tuesday (yesterday)to resign voluntarily; however, with no response received, the opposition has now decided to proceed with the formal submission of the no-confidence motion.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have 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.

PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira said that the opposition parties had agreed to move a no-confidence motion against the current AJK government.

“We have had a detailed discussion with the President today. The PML-N has decided to sit in the opposition, and it’s time to move toward new elections,” Kaira said.

He added that the goal is to restore political stability and resolve the issues facing Azad Kashmir. “Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is currently in Saudi Arabia, and we will finalize our next course of action after consulting him,” Kaira noted.