A no-confidence motion against Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq succeeded on Monday, paving the way for PPP leader Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore to become the region’s new chief executive. The motion secured 36 votes in the Legislative Assembly, with only two PTI lawmakers — Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi and opposition leader Khawaja Farooq Ahmed — opposing it.
Of the 29 PPP lawmakers, the speaker could not cast his vote, while a PML-N woman legislator abstained. Three PTI members stayed away from the session, and several others — including three PTI forward-bloc members, one Muslim Conference legislator and one JKPP member — also abstained. Haq left the assembly hall with four loyalists shortly after delivering his farewell speech.
Under AJK’s Constitution, a vote of no confidence automatically counts as support for the proposed successor. Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar subsequently declared Rathore the 16th AJK prime minister since the adoption of parliamentary governance in 1975.
In his maiden address, Rathore vowed systemic reform, saying the change “would be felt not only in faces but in the system itself.” He announced sweeping administrative measures, including limiting secretaries to one official vehicle, abolishing special secretary posts, and reactivating the Public Service Commission (PSC). Withdrawn PSC posts advertised up to January 1, 2020 would be revived, with exams to be held within a month. At least 50% of appointments up to grade 18 would be filled through direct recruitment.
Rathore also pledged implementation of the Third-Party Act across government and semi-government bodies, a uniform time-scale policy, downsizing across lower tiers, and reforms in hydropower agreements, internet services, and local government strengthening. He announced regularisation and one month’s additional pay for Grade-1 employees, upgrading driver posts, improved allowances for police personnel, and a 60-day remission for most prisoners.
Outgoing PM Haq said he was leaving “with a contented heart” and promised constructive opposition, while PTI’s Niazi condemned PTI renegade votes as “unlawful,” vowing legal action.
Rathore becomes AJK’s fourth premier in four years, taking office with six months left in the assembly’s term.
