The cabinet includes 18 members and two advisers to Prime Minister Raja Mumtaz Rathore
New AJK cabinet members take oath on Wednesday in Muzaffarabad. Photo: Online
A 20-member cabinet of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, including two advisers, has taken oath after being formed in accordance with an agreement reached with the Joint Awami Action Committee, which required the cabinet size not to exceed 20 members.
Acting President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Chaudhry Latif Akbar administered the oath to 18 ministers at a ceremony in Muzaffarabad on Wednesday, while Prime Minister Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore swore in the two advisers. A woman minister has been included in the new cabinet.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by former AJK President and Prime Minister Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob Khan, former Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan, the Chief Secretary, Inspector General of Police, departmental secretaries and a large number of Pakistan Peoples Party workers.
The ministers who took oath included Mian Abdul Waheed, Sardar Javed Ayub, Javed Iqbal Budhanvi, Chaudhry Arshad Hussain, Chaudhry Muhammad Rasheed, Ali Shan Soni, Syed Bazil Ali Naqvi, Sardar Muhammad Hussain Khan, Chaudhry Yasir Yasir Chaud Ahmed, Ya Ikhla Ahmed, Ya Ikhla Ahmed Ziaul Qamar, Zafar Iqbal Malik, Diwan Ali Khan Chughtai, Chaudhry Muhammad Rafiq Nair, Chaudhry Qasim Majeed, Sardar Faheem Akhtar Rabbani and Mrs. Nabila Ayub.
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Prime Minister Rathore administered the oath to Sardar Ahmed Sagheer and Sardar Fahad Yaqoob as advisers to the government. During the ceremony, Secretary Services and General Administration Zafar Mehmood Khan read out the official notification of appointments.
With the installation of the new cabinet, the government has completed an important phase of its formation. Officials said the administration remains committed to honoring the agreement with the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) and meeting public demands going forward.
After a deadly protest that left 10 people dead in October, the government struck a deal with JAAC to defuse tensions and address public grievances.
According to the agreement, the size of Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s cabinet is to be limited to 20 members, including ministers and advisers. The pact also limits the number of administrative secretaries to no more than 20 at any given time.
Faisal Mumtaz Rathore of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was on Monday elected the 16th Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) after Chaudhry Anwarul Haq was removed through a vote of no confidence in the state legislature.
The PPP secured its candidate’s victory with the support of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Rathore got 36 votes in the 53-member assembly where only 44 legislators were present.
