MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Dr Najeeb Naqi was sworn in as the 23rd President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) in an oath-taking ceremony in Muzaffarabad on Thursday.
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of AJK, Justice Raja Saeed Akram Khan, administered the oath to the newly elected President at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.
The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister AJK Iftikhar Gilani, Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Amir Muqam, Federal Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Pakistan Rana Sanaullah, and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Chaudhry Tariq Farooq.
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Justice Sardar Liaquat Hussain, former PM Raja Farooq Haider Khan, Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, President of PML-N AJK Shah Ghulam Qadir, former Federal Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan, government ministers, members of the assembly, chief secretary, inspector general of police, government secretaries, and police officers were also present on the occasion.
Chief Secretary AJK Khushal Khan read out the notification of the election of the President. After the oath-taking ceremony, a guard of honor was presented to the President by a police contingent.
Dr Najeeb was earlier elected President of the state with 32 votes, while his opponent, PPP’s candidate Chaudhry Latif Akbar, received 13 votes.
The session of the AJK Legislative Assembly was held under the chairmanship of Speaker Chaudhry Tariq Farooq. A total of 45 votes were polled, with one PPP lawmaker being absent.
The duties of the Returning Officer were performed by the Secretary Election Commission.
The office of the AJK president had remained vacant following the death of Barrister Sultan Mahmood in January this year. Following his demise, then-Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar started serving as acting president.
The role was then assumed by incumbent Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Tariq Farooq after he was elected speaker on August 25.
Addressing the session, Prime Minister Iftikhar Gilani expressed gratitude to the party leadership for the decision to elect Dr. Najeeb Naqi and congratulated the people of Poonch.
He said that Naqi and his family have rendered innumerable services to Poonch and the entire Azad Kashmir, and his election as President is like a breath of fresh air for this region.
Who is Dr. Najeeb Naqi?
Naqi, a resident of Sudhanoti district, served as a member of the AJK Legislative Assembly on five occasions.
Born on January 19, 1964, Dr Najeeb belongs to a prominent political, social, and educational family of Poonch. He studied at Aitchison College before graduating in medicine from King Edward Medical College, Lahore.
He was completing his house job at Mayo Hospital when his father, retired Colonel Muhammad Naqi Khan, died in a road accident while campaigning for the 1990 AJK elections.
Following the family tragedy, Dr Najeeb entered politics at the age of 26. He initially contested the 1990 election on a Muslim Conference ticket but lost. After the assembly was dissolved, he contested again and won, beginning a parliamentary career that would span over 30 years.
He served as parliamentary secretary for health and planning and development from 1991 to 1996. Over subsequent years, he held important portfolios including health, population welfare, education, information technology, finance, and planning and development.
Dr Najeeb was elected to the AJK Assembly several times, including on a PML-N ticket in 2011, and returned for another term in 2016. He lost the 2021 election but was preparing for a political comeback in the 2026 polls when elections in several constituencies of Poonch and Sudhnoti were postponed because of the law-and-order situation.
