MURREE: The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) meeting in Murree on Sunday ended without a decision on the new prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
Chaired by former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif in Murree, the meeting was attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, Federal Minister Amir Muqam, Rana Sanaullah and other party leaders.
PML-N AJK President Shah Ghulam Qadir and other party leaders attended the meeting.
Shah Ghulam Qadir has emerged as the leading candidate for the top post, while Tariq Farooq and retired Colonel Waqar Noor also remain in the race.
Sources said the party first decided to finalise candidates for the reserved seats for women. The names under consideration include Sehrish Qamar, Maryam Kashmiri, Nasira Khan and Nasara Abbasi.
PML-N President Nawaz Sharif will make the final decision on the candidates.
No decision has yet been reached on the seat reserved for overseas Kashmiris. The names of Ehsan Danish, Abdul Rehman Arain, Raja Wasim and Javed Iqbal are under consideration.
According to the sources, Nawaz Sharif will personally announce the final nominations on Monday.
The candidate for the AJK prime minister’s post will be announced later.
Earlier, Nawaz had urged the political opponents not to turn political opposition into enmity, saying his party has always treated its opponents well.
Addressing an important PML-N meeting on the AJK elections, the former three-time prime minister said the party had no room to fail to meet the expectations of the AJK people after winning a majority in the elections.
He stressed that the PML-N must implement its manifesto in full and that he would personally oversee its implementation.
Earlier, Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has secured 24 seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections.
In a statement, Chaudhry said all three phases of the AJK elections had been completed and PML-N had emerged with a clear lead.
He said the party would also receive three women and three other reserved seats under the formula, taking its total strength to 30 seats. The reserved seats include those for overseas Pakistanis, technocrats, and Ulema and Mashaikh.
The federal minister said the AJK Legislative Assembly session would be convened next week, where newly elected members would take oath and elections for reserved seats would be held.
He added that the elections for the speaker and prime minister of AJK would also be completed next week. Chaudhry said a stable and strong government was needed in AJK given the current circumstances.