AJK PM Iftikhar Gillani constitutes 8-member cabinet

MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Iftikhar Gillani has formed an eight-member cabinet. This includes seven directly elected and one indirectly elected lawmaker, all appointed as ministers without portfolios.

The ministers took their oaths at a ceremony at the Presidency. Acting President Chaudhry Tariq Farooq administered the oath, with Prime Minister Gillani present. PML-N’s regional president, Shah Ghulam Qadir, also attended. Qadir, initially considered for the prime minister position, had opposed Gillani’s nomination and did not participate in Gillani’s election or swearing-in on 28 August.

The new cabinet members are Raja Saqib Majeed and Dr Mustafa Bashir Abbasi from Muzaffarabad, Sardar Mir Akbar from Bagh, Raja Riasat and Raja Umair Naeem from Kotli, Waqar Noor from Bhimber, and Chaudhry Azhar Sadiq from Mirpur. The eighth member, Chaudhry Abdul Rehman Arain, is a businessman from Birmingham elected to a reserved seat for Kashmiris abroad.

Abbasi, Noor, Akbar, and Sadiq have previously served as ministers, while the others are new to the cabinet. Former minister Noreen Arif, notable for winning a territorial constituency in three direct elections, was not included. None of the nine PML-N legislators from refugee constituencies in Pakistan were inducted either. The 10th PML-N refugee lawmaker is already the deputy speaker of the legislative assembly.

Despite social media speculation, no advisers or special assistants were appointed. The portfolios for the new ministers have not been announced yet. In brief comments to journalists, the ministers expressed gratitude to the prime minister and pledged to serve the public diligently.

The 13th Amendment to the AJK Constitution, enacted in 2018, limited the cabinet to 30% of the assembly's total strength, or 16 ministers, with two advisers and two special assistants allowed. This restriction applied from the next assembly's inception in 2021, affecting subsequent PTI governments. However, the cap was lifted in June 2023, allowing more than 30 lawmakers from the PTI forward bloc, PPP, and PML-N to become ministers, advisers, and special assistants.

The last PPP government maintained a 20-member cabinet, including 18 ministers and two advisers, under an agreement with the now-proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee. In the direct elections to 38 constituencies, the PML-N secured 25 seats, the PPP won 12, and the lone MLA-elect of the Awami Dast-o-Bazu party allied with the PML-N.