AJK PM office: Barrister Sultan to play decisive role

ISLAMABAD: A decision about the next prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir is likely on Saturday (today), but AJK President Barrister Sultan Mahmood is appeared to have assumed the decisive role in appoint to the most important slot.

In his talks with central leadership of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Peoples Party during the past 48 hours, he spelled out his terms and conditions to both parties. After disqualification of Sardar Tanvir Ilyas, the candidate for the post of AJK premier needed support of 27 members in a 53-strong house.

Sources close to Barrister Sultan Mahmood said five MLAs had mandated the president to decide about their votes. He held two rounds of talks with the PPP leadership in Islamabad in which utmost efforts were made to convince him on the candidature of Chaudhry Yasin. Sultan advised the PPP to change its candidate, and he might conditionally support if the PPP nominates Sardar Yaqoob Khan or Faisal Mumtaz Rathore for the transitional period. The actual condition put by him was that after election of the PM, he would tender his resignation as the AJK president, contest election and become prime minister of AJK after his election to the house.

Tanvir Ilyas told PTI Chairman Imran Khan at his Zaman Park Lahore residence that his party would not be able to get elected its premier in AJK assembly if Sultan Mahmood decided to go along the united opposition parties in the house.

Sources said Sardar Tanvir held a meeting with Barrister Sultan in Islamabad on the instructions of Imran Khan and told him that the party chairman had authorised him to finalise the name of next premier in consultation with him (Sultan), who would be united candidate of Tehreek-e-Insaf. Sultan put the same condition of his ultimate election as the AJK premier before the PTI leadership. Barrister Sultan told the PTI leaders that if they nominate Chaudhry Muhammad Rasheed as the temporary premier, and ultimately elect him as the prime minister, he would guarantee that they would emerge victorious.

Meanwhile, rumours started making rounds that Muhammad Rasheed had been finalised as the temporary AJK PM, which angered the PTI members of the AJK Assembly. Sources said when Imran Khan came to know about it, he directed Tanvir Ilyas that a new candidate should be finalised with the consultation of PTI members in AJK Assembly.

Sources said Tanvir Ilyas informed Imran Khan that if the PTI nominates anyone of its three members including Deewan Ali Chughtai, Shahida Sagheer, and Abdul Qayyum Niazi, the party would be able to win the post of AJK premier. Sources said other names of the PTI assembly members making rounds include Speaker Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, Senior Minister Khawaja Farooq Ahmad and State Minister Azhar Sadiq.

However, situation has totally changed after Barrister Sultan Mahmood’s negotiations with the PPP leadership. Till Friday night, the PTI parliamentary party meeting held at PM House Muzaffarabad had failed to reach consensus on any one name for the slot. However, PTI Chairman Imran Khan advised its members not to succumb to any pressure group and nominate some die-hard party stalwart for the post of premier. He said he himself announce the final name on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the opposition group comprising PPP, PMLN and Jammu and Kashmir PPP claimed that their number had risen to 21 in the AJK Assembly, with the support of Muslim Conference’s Member Sardar Attique. They claimed a forward bloc in the PTI had also offered them support.