MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed on Monday inducted one more member in his cabinet, raising its strength to 24.

The new inductee, Sardar Abid Hussain Abid, elected against a seat reserved for technocrats, would be administered oath at Kashmir House Islamabad on Tuesday by acting AJK President Sardar Ghulam Sadiq Khan.

He is most likely to be given the portfolio of information, which is currently additionally held by Syed Bazil Ali Naqvi.

On February 26, Mr Abid had resigned from the chairmanship of Public Accounts Committee to pave way for election in his place of Ms Shamshad Aziz, spouse of Kargil fame retired Gen Mohammad Aziz Khan.

Ms Aziz was elected in July last year against a reserved seat for women on the ticket of ruling Peoples Party, after the seat became vacant with the resignation of a PML-N legislator, Dr Fouzia Ashraf.

It may be mentioned here that in the currently 48-member AJK Legislative Assembly, 31 are part of the ruling parliamentary party and of them only two – Chaudhry Arshad Hussain and Attiqur Rehman Faizpuri - are without any public office.

Mr Hussain is the cousin of Barrister Sultan Mahmood, who had recently resigned from Peoples Party and was re-elected as MLA on the ticket of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

Unlike Mr Mahmood, Mr Hussain has not quit the Peoples Party. However, the Peoples Party leadership is uncomfortable with him, or else he too could have got a ministerial slot.

Apart from the 24 cabinet members, four unelected advisers and a special assistant to the prime minister also enjoy the status of ministers.

The opposition in AJK Legislative Assembly comprises 11 members of PML-N, five members of Muslim Conference and one member of PTI.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2015

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