(Abdul Basit Alvi)
The three highest constitutional offices in Azad Jammu and Kashmir are held by representatives of its three divisions: President Dr. Muhammad Najeeb Naqi of Poonch, Prime Minister Barrister Syed Iftikhar Ali Gillani of Muzaffarabad, and Speaker Chaudhry Tariq Farooq of Mirpur. Naqi, from Sadhnoti-Palundri, became the 25th president with 32 votes against Chaudhry Latif Akbar’s 13, filling the office vacant since Barrister Sultan Mahmood’s death in January. With more than three decades of political experience, he previously served as health minister from 2006–2011 and 2016–2021 and held education, IT, finance, and planning and development portfolios. His election was especially significant because security concerns prevented several Poonch constituencies from voting. Assembly members elected the president indirectly, unlike the phased July-August elections for the 53-seat Assembly; Speaker Farooq announced the result and Chief Justice Saeed Akram Raja administered Naqi’s oath in the presence of Gillani, Federal Minister Amir Muqam, and other dignitaries. Gillani, born in Muzaffarabad in 1980, became the 17th prime minister on August 28 with 30 votes against PPP’s Sardar Mukhtar Ahmed Abbasi’s 14. A SOAS graduate and Lincoln’s Inn barrister called to the Bar in 2005, he entered the Assembly through a 2011 by-election, retained his seat in 2016, served five years as education minister, and returned on August 24 through a technocrat/professional reserved seat before receiving unanimous PML-N backing for the premiership. Farooq became the 16th Speaker with 32 votes against PPP’s Chaudhry Qasim Majeed’s 13, won from Bhimber against former prime minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, and previously served as senior-most minister, Public Accounts Committee chairman, Deputy Opposition Leader from 2016–2021, and minister several times. Outgoing Speaker Chaudhry Muhammad Latif Akbar administered his oath, after which Farooq administered the oath to Deputy Speaker Ahmed Raza Qadri. The three are reported to be friends and colleagues, and their geographical distribution and prior experience have encouraged expectations of collaborative governance. The political setting remains challenging, however, with seven Poonch and Sudhnoti constituencies still unfilled because of security concerns, leaving 46 of 53 Assembly seats occupied and requiring completion of the electoral process, resolution of political grievances, and institutional normalization.
The PML-N’s dominance has facilitated the new government’s formation: of 38 directly contested constituencies, it won 25, PPP won 12, and the lone Awami Dast-o-Bazu MLA-elect joined the PML-N, giving the party 31 lawmakers in the 46-member Assembly excluding Speaker Farooq, compared with PPP’s 14. This majority enabled the PML-N to secure all three top offices without complicated coalition negotiations. Prime Minister Gillani also formed an eight-member cabinet—seven directly elected and one indirectly elected—comprising Raja Saqib Majeed and Dr. Mustafa Bashir Abbasi from Muzaffarabad, Sardar Mir Akbar from Bagh, Raja Riasat and Raja Umair Naeem from Kotli, Waqar Noor from Bhimber, Chaudhry Azhar Sadiq from Mirpur, and Birmingham-based businessman Chaudhry Abdul Rehman Arain from Kotli, elected to a reserved overseas-Kashmiris seat. Abbasi, Noor, Akbar and Sadiq are former ministers, while the others are new to cabinet, combining experience with new entrants and maintaining broad geographic representation. The eight-member size is notable because the previous PPP government had 20 ministers under an understanding with the now-proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee, while the 2018 13th Amendment had limited the cabinet to 30% of Assembly strength, or 16 ministers, before that restriction was removed in June 2023; the smaller cabinet has therefore been associated with fiscal responsibility and administrative efficiency. Naqi’s election also ended months of acting arrangements following Sultan Mahmood’s death; although the constitution requires presidential election by a majority of the Assembly’s total membership, the vote occurred while seven directly elected seats remained vacant. Gillani acknowledged the incomplete elections and said his government was seeking to hold polling soon, though no date had been announced. The JAAC, initially prominent over electricity prices and subsidized flour, had also challenged 12 refugee-reserved constituencies for Kashmiris living elsewhere in Pakistan, arguing that they give Pakistan-based parties disproportionate influence; the Supreme Court ruled in June that the seats were constitutionally protected and could only be removed through constitutional amendment. The resulting tensions contributed to phased elections and postponement in the seven constituencies. Against this backdrop, the distribution of the presidency, premiership, and speakership among Poonch, Muzaffarabad, and Mirpur provides geographically broad representation, with Naqi connecting the presidency to Poonch, Gillani linking the executive to the capital division, and Farooq bringing Mirpur representation to the legislature, while federal and provincial support from Amir Muqam and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has reinforced cooperation on development, public welfare, peace, order, and administrative support.
The personal friendships among the three leaders could prove to be a valuable asset in navigating the inevitable challenges of governance. Political alliances built on genuine personal respect and shared vision tend to be more durable than those based solely on transactional calculations, and the fact that these three individuals are also deep friends suggests a level of trust and mutual understanding that can facilitate smoother coordination between the presidency, the prime minister’s office, and the assembly speaker’s office. Their relative newness to their current positions, while potentially a source of concern for those who value experience above all else, can also be an advantage in that they are less encumbered by the entrenched patterns of the past and more open to innovative approaches to governance. The description of them as not being from traditional cult politics is particularly telling in a region where personality-driven political movements have often overshadowed institutional development. If these three leaders can succeed in establishing a more institutionalized and collaborative form of governance, they will have made a lasting contribution to the political maturity of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The warm reception that the new leadership has received from the people of AJK reflects a widespread desire for stability and effective governance after a period of political uncertainty and electoral challenges. The completion of the constitutional leadership structure with the president, prime minister, and speaker now in place has moved AJK into a new phase of parliamentary governance, and for a region that has experienced its share of political turbulence, this is a welcome development . The hope that the new government team will work more efficiently toward prosperity and betterment is not merely a platitude but a genuine expectation based on the qualities and backgrounds of the individuals who have been entrusted with these high offices. Dr. Naqi’s decades of public service, Gillani’s legal training and ministerial experience, and Farooq’s extensive parliamentary career all provide grounds for cautious optimism that the new leadership is equipped to address the pressing issues facing the region.
As the new government settles into office, the eyes of the people of AJK will be watching closely to see whether the promise of regional cohesion translates into tangible improvements in their daily lives. The challenges are substantial, including the completion of the electoral process in the remaining constituencies, the addressing of the grievances that led to the postponement of voting in Poonch and Sudhnoti, the management of the relationship with the federal government in a way that maximizes benefits for the region, and the delivery of basic services and economic opportunities to a population that has high expectations. But if the new leadership can build on the foundation of regional cohesion that their tripartite representation represents, and if they can govern with the spirit of cooperation and mutual respect that their personal friendships suggest, then there is reason to believe that the coming years could mark a new chapter of progress and stability for Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The message that this sends to the rest of Pakistan is one of hope and possibility, that diverse regions can come together in shared purpose and that leadership can be both representative and effective. In a country that often struggles with regional tensions and political fragmentation, the example set by AJK’s new leadership team is one that deserves attention and emulation.
