Iftikhar Gillani elected AJK prime minister

MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly on Friday elected Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Iftikhar Gillani as the new prime minister.

Gillani secured 30 of the 44 votes cast in the House, defeating Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate Sardar Mukhtar Ahmad Khan Abbasi, who received 14 votes.

PML-N lawmaker Shah Ghulam Qadir was absent from the Assembly and did not participate in the voting.

Gillani succeeds PPP’s Chaudhry Abdul Qayyum Rathore, who was elected AJK prime minister in November 2025.

The election was held to choose the new leader of the House following the political developments that led to the change in the AJK government.

Seven AJK Assembly seats in the Poonch and Sudhnoti districts have yet to be contested.

Earlier, reports suggested that the ruling PML-N had approached the PPP through back-channel contacts to explore the possibility of forming a coalition government in AJK.

Also Read: PPP decides to sit in opposition after rejecting PML-N’s AJK coalition offer

According to sources, the federal government had offered the PPP a partnership in the AJK government along with key positions, including the AJK presidency and the post of deputy speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

The PPP, however, rejected the offer and decided to sit on the opposition benches, sources said.

Gillani’s election gives the PML-N leadership of the AJK government as the political landscape remains unsettled with seven assembly seats yet to be filled.