The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is preparing to assume the government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir following the absorption of 10 lawmakers from the AJK Legislative Assembly into the party.
Last week, President Asif Ali Zardari met the AJK lawmakers and approved a plan to form the government in the region. Incumbent Prime Minister Anwarul Haq is likely to leave the office through either a no-confidence motion or resignation.
The change in government comes ahead of elections in the region, set to occur in around six months. It follows recent protests that saw tens of thousands of Kashmiris taking to the streets to protest the government’s functioning.
According to local media, President Zardari has shared his party’s plans to form a new government with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. They said Sharif had tasked a three-member committee comprising Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanaullah and Amir Muqam to discuss the situation with the PPP and chart a path forward that ensures stability. It remains unclear what role, if any, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) would have in the new government, as its regional leadership has said it would not become part of the government and would prefer to sit in the opposition. The party has just nine members in the house, suggesting its numbers are not necessary for any change in the government.
The AJK Legislative Assembly has a total strengthen of 52 lawmakers and any party seeking a simple majority requires the support of 27 members. The PPP had 17 seats prior to the joining of 10 members of a “forward bloc,” granting it the necessary numbers to proceed without any other parties. The rest of the legislature is comprised of nine seats for the PMLN, four for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, and one each for the Muslim Conference and Jammu Kashmir Peoples Party.