The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly has scheduled the election for the new prime minister on August 27. The election schedule was issued on Wednesday, outlining the process for selecting the head of the AJK government. Polling will take place inside the Legislative Assembly.
Candidates will submit nomination papers between 9:30am and 10:30am. Officials will scrutinise the papers from 10:30am to 10:45am.
The candidate list will be displayed at 11am. Candidates can withdraw their nominations between 11am and 11:30am.
Authorities will issue the final candidate list at noon. The prime ministerial election will then take place at 12:30pm.
The newly elected prime minister will take the oath between 4pm and 5pm on August 27.
PML-N Holds Strong Assembly Position
The AJK elections took place in three phases between July 27 and August 10. Polling was held in 38 of the 45 directly contested constituencies.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) secured 25 seats, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) won 12 seats.
The lone MLA from the Awami Dast-o-Bazu party later joined the PML-N. As a result, the PML-N has the support of 32 assembly members.
Meanwhile, the PPP has 14 votes. Therefore, the PML-N is expected to elect its nominee, party president Shah Ghulam Qadir, as the new AJK prime minister.
New Assembly Leadership Takes Shape
The political balance became clearer after the election of the assembly’s new leadership.
PML-N AJK Secretary General Chaudhry Tariq Farooq was elected speaker with 32 votes. Ahmed Raza Qadri also secured 32 votes to become deputy speaker.
PPP nominee Qasim Majid received 13 votes for speaker. Its deputy speaker candidate, Amir Abdul Ghaffar Lone, also received 13 votes.
One PPP vote was declared invalid during the voting process.
Earlier, 46 newly elected members took oath on August 24. The ceremony formally marked the beginning of the new parliamentary term following the 2026 general elections.
Outgoing speaker Latif Akbar administered the oath during the assembly’s inaugural session. The new composition reflects a clear shift in parliamentary strength, with the PML-N emerging as the dominant force. The upcoming prime ministerial election will now formally complete the initial leadership process of the new AJK Assembly.
