MUZAFFARABAD: Former Azad Jammu and Kashmir prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf Regional President Barrister Sultan Mehmood was sworn in as Member Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the seventh time on Thursday.

AJK Legislative Assembly Speaker Sardar Ghulam Sadiq administered his oath taking at the MLA Hostel. Earlier, a large number of PTI workers and local leaders gathered to welcome Mr Mahmood on his arrival in Muzaffarabad. They remained encamped outside the main entrance during the oath taking ceremony.

After taking oath, the PTI regional president said he aimed to eradicate corruption and nepotism from AJK. He said he wanted to turn AJK into a corruption free state with rule of law and merit.

He alleged that poor state of governance is one of the major failures of the president government and PTI aims to facilitate people by providing good governance.

Mr Mahmood asked his workers to prepare for general elections, which he claimed would be held in AJK in 2015, “because the PPP government would fail to pass the budget, unless supported by the PML-N.”

“Unfortunately, the PML-N is constantly providing support to the corrupt government. So they are equally responsible for the mess, we face in AJK,” he said.

Mr Mahmood had won the by-election in LA-3 Mirpur-III on March 29, by defeating the joint candidate of ruling PPP AJK and opposition PML-N Chaudhry Muhammad Ashraf. The seat had become vacant after he quit PPP for PTI and resigned from his seat.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2015

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