MUZAFFARABAD: After taking oath as the 15th prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Thursday afternoon, Chaudhry Anwarul Haq said that he contested as an independent candidate because the PTI was in no position to win the election.

“I would not have contested the election if my party [PTI] were able to win it on its own strength,” he said, promising to establish rule of law in the region.

“I won’t promise that the rule of angels will be established in the state and that it will look like paradise in a single day because [bringing about] such change takes time. However, as soon as we complete the initial phase of government formation, you will see a tangible change,” he said in his address after being sworn in by President Barrister Sultan Mahmood.

“I need time to improve this system, so I urge all of my allies to support me with patience and courage.”

On the Kashmir dispute, Mr Haq made it clear that the state of Jammu and Kashmir was an indivisible unity and no formula for its division could be implemented in his presence.

PTI members arrive, then walk out of oath-taking ceremony; election of new speaker postponed

“As head of the government of the base camp of the freedom movement, I assure our brethren across the divide [in India-held territory] that I will convey their voice with all my strength at home and abroad for the early accomplishment of our common cause.”

Mr Haq, who was the Legislative Assembly’s speaker since August 2021, was elected unopposed as leader of the house in the pre-dawn election after forming a 12-member ‘forward bloc’ in the PTI and forging an alliance with the 19-member combined opposition, comprising PPP and PML-N lawmakers.

When polling was held, all 48 members, present in the house, voted for him. Earlier reports suggested he had secured 31 votes, but this information was later revised when it emerged that all present in the house had voted for him.

Two legislators from PTI and one each from the two opposition parties did not show up.

The oath-taking ceremony was attended, among others, by almost all opposition and ‘forward bloc’ members. Some other PTI legislators, who initially arrived to attend the event, however, walked out before the ceremony began, reportedly after receiving phone calls from Pervez Khattak.

“We have been told by our leadership that until Mr Haq clarifies his position, we should stay away from the functions featuring him,” former senior minister Khawaja Farooq Ahmed, one of the people who moved away from the ceremony, told Dawn.

Mr Haq, who comes from a well-known political family of Bhimber district, regretted that while AJK possessed complete infrastructure of a full-fledged state it was not being used for the service of common people but for the luxuries of a specific class. Post-election address

Earlier, in his speech on the floor of the house, after the announcement of the election result, the PM maintained that he would not have any justification to stay in power if he failed to establish rule of law and serve the masses.

“In such a situation, I will quit the office on my own.”

Mr Haq, who has returned to the assembly for a second time since 2006, reiterated his commitment to fulfilling his obligations as the leader of house.

“Apart from the assembly members, every citizen of the state has the right to hold me accountable in case they notice a contradiction in my words and deeds.”

Mr Haq, 53, made it clear that he had contested the prime minister’s election as an independent candidate with the support of the combined opposition, who he referred to as PDM, and thanked the PTI lawmakers who voted for him.

Shortly after the new PM’s oath, President Mahmood also administered the oath of office to PML-N’s Waqar Noor and PPP’s Faisal Mumtaz Rathore as cabinet members. Their portfolios are yet to be announced.

Speaker’s election postponed

In a related development, the assembly secretariat cancelled the schedule for election of speaker, after PTI lawmaker Chaudhry Maqbool Gujjar submitted his nomination papers against Chaudhry Latif Akbar of PPP.

The combined opposition and the ‘forward bloc’ had entered into an agreement to elect the prime minister and speaker unopposed.

However, when Mr Gujjar submitted his papers, the new ruling alliance got the schedule revoked on the grounds that the election of speaker could not be conducted because the outgoing speaker had not yet resigned from the office.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2023