MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): The newly appointed Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Ghulam Mustafa Mughal took oath as the Chief Election Commissioner of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Chief Justice of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Justice Raja Saeed Akram Khan administered the oath to him.
The oath-taking ceremony was held at the Supreme Court Building, Muzaffarabad, in which Member Election Commission Syed Nazir-ul-Hassan Gilani, Inspector General of Police Captain (retd) Liaquat Ali, besides secretaries to the government, district judiciary, and a large number of lawyers participated.
Earlier, the Law and Justice Department of Azad Kashmir officially notified the appointment of Justice (retired) Ghulam Mustafa Mughal as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of AJK for a five-year term
“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-Article (3) of Article 50 of the AJK Interim Constitution, 1974, the President of Azad Kashmir, on the advice of the Chairman of the AJ&K Council, is pleased to appoint Mr. Justice (Retd.) Ghulam Mustafa Mughal, as Chief Election Commissioner of Azad Jammu and Kashmir for a term of five years,” the notification stated.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the chairman of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Council advised acting President Chaudhry Latif Akbar to appoint retired Justice Ghulam Mustafa Mughal as the region’s CEC.
The office of the CEC has remained vacant since Jan 13 last year following the completion of the term of the previous incumbent, retired Justice Abdul Rashid Sulehria.
Justice Mughal, who is over 70, had held this office in the past as well. In February 2016, when he was the chief justice of the AJK High Court, he was given additional responsibility of the CEC for a three-year term.
He was elevated to the AJK SC in April 2017, from where he retired in December 2020.
