Pakistan Peoples Party candidate Faisal Mumtaz Rathore has won the LA-17 Haveli seat after a vote recount. The returning officer issued Form 27, formally confirming Rathore’s victory.
Rathore secured 33,872 votes, while PML-N candidate Chaudhry Mohsin Uzir received 32,354 votes. Independent candidate Khawaja Tariq Saeed finished third with 12,538 votes.
Rathore Secures Victory After Vote Recount
The recount confirmed Rathore’s lead in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir constituency. His victory adds another electoral achievement to his long political career.
Rathore currently serves as Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir, a position he secured in November 2025. He has also held several ministerial positions in the AJK government.
Born on April 11, 1978, Rathore received his early education in Rawalpindi. He later graduated from the University of the Punjab and entered politics through the PPP.
PPP Leader Has Long Political Career
Rathore first contested an AJK election in 2006 from LA-16 Bagh-IV. However, independent candidate Chaudhry Muhammad Aziz defeated him in that election.
Rathore won the same constituency in 2011 with 32,786 votes. He later served as minister for logging, sawmills and electricity under Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majid.
In March 2017, the PPP appointed Rathore as general secretary of its Azad Kashmir chapter. He returned to the Legislative Assembly after winning the 2021 general election with 30,085 votes.
The PPP later nominated him for AJK Assembly speaker, but Chaudhry Anwarul Haq won the contest. Rathore joined Haq’s cabinet in April 2023 and handled local government and rural development.
Rathore became AJK prime minister on November 17, 2025, after securing 36 assembly votes. The PPP and PML-N supported the no-confidence motion that led to his election.
