- Bilawal to announce new government Monday; Yasin, Akbar shortlisted for PM slot
- Party holds series of high-level consultations, finalises strategy to unseat Anwarul Haq
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has formally decided to form its own government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) after President Asif Ali Zardari reportedly gave the go-ahead to unseat incumbent Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq through a no-confidence motion.
The decision came after a series of high-level consultations held in Islamabad on Saturday, including separate meetings chaired by President Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. Senior party leaders Faryal Talpur, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, and Qamar Zaman Kaira were also in attendance.
According to party sources, President Zardari, during the meeting at the Presidency, approved the plan to move a no-confidence motion against the AJK premier. The president will also finalise the party’s nominee for the top slot after consultations with the PPP leadership, the sources added.
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who earlier served as the country’s foreign minister, is expected to formally announce the government formation on Monday. Party insiders said that Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin and Chaudhry Latif Akbar are under consideration for the position of AJK prime minister.
PPP leaders claimed that the party has secured the required numbers to ensure the success of the no-confidence motion if the incumbent premier refuses to resign voluntarily.
Confirming the development, PPP AJK leader Chaudhry Yasin said that all parliamentary members had endorsed the move to form a new government.
“All parliamentary party members attended detailed meetings and unanimously supported the in-house change,” he told reporters, adding that the final decision on the new prime minister would rest with the party leadership.
Earlier in the day, a session chaired by Bilawal Bhutto had endorsed the plan to move a no-confidence motion against Anwarul Haq, marking a decisive step toward an in-house change in Muzaffarabad.
Speaking to journalists outside Zardari House, senior PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira said that the evolving political situation in AJK was “a matter of concern for all parties.”
“We have heard that the PML-N has decided to sit in the opposition, though we have not been officially informed,” he noted.
Kaira added that another consultative meeting with the president would be held soon to finalise details before a formal announcement, stressing that “governments are formed when the numbers are secured—and we now have them.”
