The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly has approved a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq and elected PPP-backed Faisal Mumtaz Rathore as the new prime minister.
The session, presided over by Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar, began with the formal presentation of the no-confidence motion against Anwarul Haq on Monday. The motion was submitted by Sardar Javed Ayub, Chaudhry Qasim Majeed, and several other lawmakers, who also put forward Rathore’s name for the top office.
In the subsequent vote, Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore received 36 votes, while only two votes were cast against him. Since only 27 votes were needed for the motion to pass, it was carried comfortably. Rathore is set to become the 16th Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir. His oath-taking ceremony is expected to be held on Tuesday (tomorrow).
Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, who was elected Prime Minister in April 2023 with 48 votes, chose to face the no-confidence motion rather than resigning from the office.
The PPP had nominated Faisal Rathore for the top slot. Rathore also enjoys the support of the PML-N, which has backed the motion but chosen not to join the government.
Security has been tightened around the Assembly Secretariat, Ministers’ Block and Prime Minister’s Secretariat. Entry is restricted to lawmakers and secretariat staff, while media persons with official passes only are allowed. All members will enter the House together.
The PPP has moved to consolidate its position in the region following President Asif Ali Zardari’s political roadmap unveiled last month. The PPP formally moved a no-confidence motion against Chaudhry Anwarul Haq last week, nominated Faisal Rathore for the top slot and submitted the resolution with the required signatures.
Under assembly rules, the submitted motion is required to be placed on the list of business within three to seven days, after which the speaker is constitutionally bound to set a voting date. Once the date is fixed, the session cannot be adjourned until the vote is held. The session has been convened by Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar under Article 27 of the AJK Constitution.
Although the PML-N signed the no-confidence motion, the party decided not to support the PPP’s nominee for the top slot, and will instead sit on the opposition benches, positioning itself for July 2026 polls. Strict security arrangements were put in place across the city. The PPP’s central leadership likely to attend the oath taking ceremony, scheduled for Tuesday.
The new government is expected to face key challenges, including implementing action committee agreements, addressing PML-N’s early election demand, and limiting the cabinet to 20 ministers. Today’s vote is set to chart a new course in AJK politics.
Who is Faisal Mumtaz Rathore
Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, born on 11 April 1978 in Rawalpindi, belongs to one of Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s prominent political families. He is the son of the late AJK Prime Minister Mumtaz Hussain Rathore, a senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader who held several key positions including Senior Minister in 1975, Prime Minister in 1990, Leader of the Opposition in 1991 and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in 1996.
His mother, Begum Farhat Rathore, also remained an elected member of the AJK Legislative Assembly and served as President of the PPP Women’s Wing. The Rathore family is widely regarded as one of the founding families of the PPP in Azad Kashmir.
Rathore received his early education in Rawalpindi and completed his graduation from the University of the Punjab. After his father’s death, his elder brother Masood Mumtaz Rathore was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1999 to complete the remaining term.
Faisal Rathore entered electoral politics in 2006, contesting from LA-17 (Haveli Kahuta). He was first elected to the AJK Legislative Assembly in 2011 on a PPP ticket and served in Chaudhry Abdul Majeed’s cabinet as Minister for Auqaf and Minister for Electricity. He was arrested in a political case in 2016 but was later acquitted.
On 23 March 2017, he was appointed General Secretary of PPP Azad Kashmir, a position he continues to hold. Re-elected in 2021, he remained an active member of the opposition benches.
Known for his reconciliatory nature and soft-spoken political style, Rathore is respected across political and military circles, as well as among civil society groups, particularly the Awami Action Committee.
Within the PPP, Faisal Mumtaz Rathore is considered a trusted associate of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Faryal Talpur, representing the party’s ideological and middle-class faction.
Source: Express Tribune