ISLAMABAD – Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry is set to become the new President of Azad Jammu Kashmir as the ruling Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf finalised his name for the top slot.
Chaudhry was previously a strong candidate for AJK Prime Minister’s slot along with Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan but both of them were dropped. Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi was eventually elected the new AJK premier.
Minister for Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan Affairs Ali Amin Khan Gandapur yesterday announced that Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry had been nominated as the presidential candidate for AJK by the ruling PTI.
He said Prime Minister Imran Khan had approved the name of Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry as he held a prominent position in the AJK politics. The presidential election for AJK would be held on August 17, he added.
Election of president
The election for Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s president will take place on August 17 from 10am to 2pm, the AJK Election Commission announced Monday. The election commission, in a notification, said the nomination papers will be filed on August 12 from 10am to 12pm and on the same day, officials will scrutinize them.
The candidates can withdraw their nominations till August 16 (11:30am). The polling will take place on August 17 from 10am to 2pm at the AJK Legislative Assembly Hall, the notification said.
The newly-elected president will take oath on August 24, as the outgoing President Sardar Masood Khan’s tenure will end on the same day. Last week, PTI candidate Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi got elected as the new prime minister of Azad Kashmir by a comfortable margin.
President AJK Sardar Masood Khan had administered the oath to him, after which he became the 13th prime minister of the region, taking over the reins from former premier Raja Farooq Haider. Niazi secured the premiership by a comfortable margin, bagging 33 votes. PPP and PML-N’s joint candidate, Chaudhry Lateef Akbar, managed to win only 15 votes.
Niazi had won the AJK polls from the LA-18 constituency. He was not among the leading candidates for the prized post. Initially, Barrister Sultan Mahmood and Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan were being considered as the AJK PM. The PTI emerged victorious after the recently-held Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections, bagging a total of 32 seats in the assembly.
Meanwhile the Election Commission has also announced the schedule for the election of four members of Azad Jammu and Kashmir council. The polling for the election of four members will be held on 23rd august 2021 at Assembly Hall from 10 am to 2 pm.
According to the schedule nomination papers will be filed before the returning officer on 13th of august from 9 am to 2 pm while the scrutiny of the nomination papers will be held the same day after 2 pm. Appeals against the acceptance or rejections of the nomination papers can be filed before the election commission on 16th august from 9 am to 12.30 pm .The Election commission will hear the appeals on 21st August from 09 am to 12.30 pm. Decisions on the appeals will be announced the same day from 1 pm to 4 pm. The candidates can withdraw their nomination papers on
22nd of August before 11.30 am, following which the financial lists of the contesting candidates will be published before 2 pm. The Election for these seats will be held on 23rd of August