MUZAFFARABAD (MNN); A day after taking oath as the newly-elected Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore expanded his cabinet on Wednesday with the induction of 18 ministers from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
The oath was administered at Aiwan-i-Sadr in Muzaffarabad by AJK Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar, who was acting as president due to the illness of AJK President Barrister Sultan Mahmood. Mahmood was reportedly unable to travel to Muzaffarabad owing to health issues.
The ceremony was attended by PM Rathore, former AJK premiers Sardar Tanveer Ilyas and Haji Yaqoob Khan, senior civil servants, and a large number of PPP workers and supporters.
Those sworn in as ministers include Mian Abdul Waheed, Sardar Javed Ayoub, Javed Iqbal Budhanvi, Chaudhry Qasim Majeed, Amar Yasin, Sardar Ziaul Qamar, Syed Bazil Ali Naqvi, Nabila Ayub Khan, Deevan Ali Chughtai, Malik Zafar Iqbal, Chaudhry Arshad, Chaudhry Muhammad Rasheed, Yasir Sultan, Sardar Muhammad Hussain, Chaudhry Akhlaq, Faheem Akhtar Rabbani, Rafique Nayyar and Ali Shan Soni.
The first eight were elected on the PPP ticket in 2021, whereas the remaining members had contested the election on the PTI ticket before recently joining the PPP. Nabila Ayub Khan, elected on a reserved seat, is the only woman in the cabinet. No lawmaker elected on refugee seats has been included.
Portfolios were not announced immediately; however, a later notification designated Mian Abdul Waheed as the senior-most minister.
During the ceremony, a notification announcing the appointment of two advisers to the government was read out. Sardar Ahmad Saghir—son of MLA Shahida Saghir—and Sardar Fahad Yaqoob—son of Haji Yaqoob—were appointed as advisers. Shahida Saghir, originally elected on a PTI ticket, also joined the PPP after leaving the party.
Although the AJK Constitution allows the appointment of advisers, it does not specify an oath-taking requirement. Despite this, PM Rathore administered an oath to both new advisers.
Rathore assumed office on Tuesday after Chaudhry Anwarul Haq was removed through a vote of no-confidence. He is the fourth AJK prime minister elected in as many years.
