PPP emerges single largest party in AJK as ten ‘PTI’ legislators jump ship

• Defectors include AJK president’s son, key cabinet members as PPP now commands majority with 27 members in 53-seat house
• Ten PTI forward bloc members announce joining the party in Islamabad meetings
• PML-N opts for opposition benches amid political reshuffle

ISLAMABAD: With political developments gaining pace in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Sunday achieved a major breakthrough after ten legislators elected on PTI tickets in the 2021 general elections announced their decision to join the PPP—a move that has dramatically shifted the balance of power in the region’s Legislative Assembly and positioned the party to claim the premiership.

The announcement came a day after senior PPP leaders from AJK held crucial meetings with Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and President Asif Ali Zardari in Islamabad to finalize the party’s strategy for the removal of incumbent Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq.

The latest political realignment has made the PPP the single largest party in the 53-member AJK Legislative Assembly, with the numbers now clearly in its favor to form the next government.

PPP takes clear lead in AJK Assembly

Following Sunday’s defections, the PPP’s strength in the house has surged to 27 members, followed by the PML-N with nine, the PTI with five, and two regional parties holding one seat each. The breakaway group of PTI legislators supporting Haq has now been reduced to just ten members.

PPP lawmaker Chaudhry Qasim Majeed onfirmed that “ten PTI legislators have joined the PPP in joint and separate meetings with Faryal Talpur at Zardari House in Islamabad.”

He added, “Yes, we are now in a comfortable position to send the incumbent Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq packing and replace him with a new leader of the house from our ranks.”

Key defectors and political camps

Among those who switched sides were five lawmakers aligned with AJK President Barrister Sultan Mahmood — including his son Yasir Sultan, his brother-in-law Chaudhry Arshad, Chaudhry Akhlaque from the Mirpur division, Chaudhry Muhammad Rasheed from the Muzaffarabad division, and Sardar Muhammad Hussain from the Poonch division.

According to senior PPP leader Azhar Iqbal Baralvi, female legislator Sabiha Siddique, also from Sultan Mahmood’s camp, did not immediately join the PPP due to “reservations over the possible nomination of Haq’s successor.”

Later in the day, Zafar Iqbal Malik from Kotli also announced his decision to join the PPP separately. Following suit, Abdul Majid Khan, Chaudhry Akbar Ibrahim, Asim Sharif Butt (from refugee constituencies), and Sardar Faheem Rabbani from the Poonch division met Faryal Talpur to formally join the PPP.

All ten defectors are currently serving in Haq’s cabinet, though only the three refugee legislators had publicly announced their resignations earlier. No official notification of their resignations, however, has yet been issued.

PPP strategizes for change in government

PPP’s regional president Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin was notably absent from the meetings at Zardari House.

According to Qasim Majeed, the PPP parliamentary party held two back-to-back meetings on Saturday — first with Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, where it was unanimously decided to move against PM Haq, and later with President Asif Ali Zardari to brief him on the strategy and latest developments.

He hinted that “more legislators are likely to join the PPP in the coming days,” suggesting that the party could consolidate its position further before moving a formal no-confidence motion in the assembly.

PML-N opts for opposition benches

Meanwhile, the PML-N, which has nine members in the house, has decided not to become part of the new ruling coalition.

“We will not be part of the government formation process and will sit on the opposition benches,” the party’s regional president Shah Ghulam Qadir told reporters on Sunday.

Majeed also confirmed that President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif were “in close contact regarding the ongoing political situation” in AJK. However, he said that the decision on Haq’s successor would rest solely with the party leadership.

“I am not aware who will be nominated as the new prime minister—this decision lies with President Zardari and Chairman Bilawal,” Majeed said.

Haq camp vows to fight back

Reacting to the developments, Chaudhry Azhar Sadiq, AJK’s Minister for Works and Communications and a close confidant of PM Haq, said the prime minister had no intention of dissolving the assembly despite possessing the constitutional authority to do so.

“Although the Constitution empowers him, he will not take that step,” Sadiq told Dawn.com. “He has always maintained that if his opponents gather 27 lawmakers, he will step down. If they have the required numbers, they can move the no-confidence motion—we will face it.”

Sadiq, however, cautioned that “there are many a slip between the cup and the lip,” implying that political uncertainties remained despite the PPP’s apparent numerical advantage.

Show of strength planned in Islamabad

As the political battle lines sharpen, all PPP members and newly joined legislators were scheduled to assemble at the Sindh House in Islamabad on Sunday night to demonstrate their collective strength ahead of a possible no-confidence vote.

Party insiders said that the gathering was aimed at sending a “clear message of unity and preparedness” to both the Haq-led group and other parties in the assembly.

If the PPP’s current alignment holds, the party will not only form the next government in AJK but also secure control over the region’s top executive office for the first time since 2011.