MUZAFFABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) swore in a 20 member cabinet on Wednesday;18 ministers and two advisers; formalizing an agreement with the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) that capped the cabinet’s size and signaled an effort to stabilize governance after months of political turmoil. The move comes as AJK installs its fourth prime minister in just four years under the same Legislative Assembly, highlighting ongoing volatility in the region’s power structure.
Acting AJK President Chaudhry Latif Akbar administered the oath to the ministers during a ceremony in Muzaffarabad, while newly elected Prime Minister Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore swore in advisers Sardar Ahmed Sagheer and Sardar Fahad Yaqoob. The cabinet includes one woman minister, Nabila Ayub. The event drew senior political figures, including former presidents and prime ministers, along with top officials and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) workers.
The new cabinet composed of Mian Abdul Waheed, Sardar Javed Ayub, Javed Iqbal Budhanvi, Chaudhry Arshad Hussain, Chaudhry Muhammad Rasheed, Ali Shan Soni, Syed Bazil Ali Naqvi, Sardar Muhammad Hussain Khan, Chaudhry Yasir Sultan, Chaudhry Ikhlaq Ahmed, Chaudhry Aamir Yasin, Sardar Ziaul Qamar, Zafar Iqbal Malik, Diwan Ali Khan Chughtai, Chaudhry Muhammad Rafiq Nair, Chaudhry Qasim Majeed, Sardar Faheem Akhtar Rabbani and others, marks the completion of a key phase in forming the new government.
The cabinet cap was part of a deal struck with the JAAC after violent protests in October left 10 people dead. The agreement also limits administrative secretaries to no more than 20, aimed at reducing political excess and calming public anger.
Rathore, of the PPP, was elected AJK’s 16th prime minister on Monday after the ouster of Chaudhry Anwarul Haq through a no-confidence vote. He secured 36 votes in the 53 member assembly, with support from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. The rapid turnover in leadership underscores the political fragility still gripping AJK as it attempts to restore stability.
