MUZAFFARABAD: Chaudhry Abdul Majeed took oath as the new prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K) on Tuesday at a ceremony held on the premises of the AJK Legislative Assembly. AJK President Raja Zulqarnain Khan administered the oath to him. The ceremony was attended by Pakistan People’s Party Secretary General Jehangir Badar, Federal Minister Kashmir and Gilgit and Baltistan Affairs Mian Manzoor Watoo, Rukhsana Bangash assembly members and a large number of notables and PPP workers.
Majeed had got the votes of not only the PPP legislators but also the Muslim Conference and the MQM. He made a smooth sailing to the office by securing 35 votes while his rival, Raja Farooq Haider; a PML-N nominee bagged 11 votes. The speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Sardar Ghulam Sadiq, did not cast his vote. The voting for eleventh executive head of AJ&K took place in the assembly chambers. Addressing the House after his election, Majeed said that his success was due to the blessings of Garhi Khuda Baksh and he will never compromise on the philosophy of Bhuttos.
He said the democratic norms only existed due to the sacrifice of Bhutto family and the struggle of the PPP. The defeated candidate, Raja Farooq Haider, strongly criticised “rigging in political process” and demanded of the new government to take stern action against those government officials who took part in the election process and “launched a movement against the PML-N candidates.
” The Muslim Conference chief and former prime minister Sardar Attique Khan congratulated his successor and hoped that he would further the Kashmir cause at all required forums. He also urged the assembly to pass a condemnation resolution against the arrest of Dr Ghulam Nabi Fye. – Dailytimes
