Raja Faisal Rathore takes oath as AJK PM after Anwarul Haq ouster

• AJK Assembly Speaker Lateef Akbar administers oath to Rathore.
• PPP Chairman Bilawal urges new AJK PM to resolve public’s issues. 
• Rathore thanks PPP top leaders for trusting him with this responsibility.

MUZAFFARABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Raja Faisal Rathore was sworn in as the new prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, a day after securing the assembly’s vote to replace the ousted Anwarul Haq.

Rathore was administered the oath by AJK Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Lateef Akbar during a ceremony in Muzaffarabad, which was attended by Gilgit Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governors.

Moreover, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, senior leader Faryal Talpur and members of high civil-military leadership were also present at the oath-taking ceremony,

After the oath, the newly elected AJK PM thanked the PPP's top leadership, including President Asif Ali Zardari and Talpur, for bestowing upon him the premier responsibility.

"I pay tribute to the Pakistan Army, who are defending us by sacrificing their lives," Rathore said in his speech. He further said that the PPP has taken the responsibility of restoring the relationship with the people.

'AJK's unmatched political awareness'

Speaking on the ocassion, PPP Chairman Bilawal congratulated the people of AJK, declaring that politics in the region had finally been restored.

Bilawal praised the "unmatched political awareness” of Kashmiris. He said newly sworn‑in AJK PM Rathore had witnessed the people’s protests firsthand and now carried their trust.

“The promises Faisal Rathore made to you are a trust placed with me,” he said, adding that the new prime minister must now resolve the public’s issues. “You must fulfil the commitments you made to the people,” he urged Rathore.

Bilawal said that when representatives fail to represent their people, citizens are forced to struggle themselves. “Now in Muzaffarabad, your representative is Faisal Rathore,” he told the crowd. He vowed that the AJK government would not be run “from behind closed doors”.

Turning to India, Bilawal said that Pakistan's "standard" after the war with India was clear for all to see. He alleged that India was “hiding its face from the world”, and that international forums had seen New Delhi withdraw from scrutiny over the Pahalgam incident in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). 

He said that the United States and other countries would keep reminding New Delhi that "seven of its aircraft were downed" by the Pakistan Air Force.

Bilawal said India tries to damage the longstanding fraternal bond between Pakistan and Kashmir. He further said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “hiding from the world” and that India was fleeing from global platforms.

“I want to tell the Modi government: you have lost wars, and now you will lose your conspiracies too,” he declared.

Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif telephoned the newly elected AJK-PM and congratulated him on his election victory. During the conversation, PM Shehbaz said that the uplift of the AJK people was among the federal government’s priorities.

“We are determined to work with the AJK government for the welfare, economic development and security of the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir,” he said and assured that his government will extend all-out cooperation in this regard.

After the oath, Rathore has become the 16th AJK PM and the fourth of the current assembly. Those who have served in the top post during the current assembly’s tenure, apart from Haq, include Abdul Qayyum Khan and Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan.

Anwarul Haq's ouster

The AJK legislative body on Monday voted to remove Haq from the PM's post, after PPP formally submitted a no-confidence motion against him. A total of 36 lawmakers, including those from the PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supported the no-confidence motion against the ex-PM, while two opposed it. 

The PPP had moved to consolidate its government in the autonomous region shortly after President Zardari revealed the political strategy last month. The party bolstered its strength in the Legislative Assembly when 10 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmakers joined the PPP on October 26 during a meeting with President Zardari’s sister, Talpur, at Zardari House in Islamabad.

Among those who joined the PPP were Muhammad Hussain, Chaudhry Yasir, Chaudhry Muhammad Akhlaq, Chaudhry Arshad, Chaudhry Muhammad Rasheed, Zafar Iqbal Malik, Faheem Akhtar Rabbani, Abdul Majid Khan, Muhammad Akbar Ibrahim, and Asim Sharif Butt.

Later, the PML-N also tendered its support for the no-confidence motion, but decided against joining the government's fold.