MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): The Senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader and Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Azad Kashmir, Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, has been nominated as the new Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir.
The AJK Minister and PPP leader has extensive experience in politics with deep roots in Azad Kashmir; his family is considered one of the founders of the Pakistan Peoples Party in Azad Kashmir.
He has experience in the national media of Pakistan and has been doing regular programs on Bol TV. When it comes to politics, he is known as a highly trusted leader of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Ms. Faryal Talpur, and serves as the representative of the ideological and middle-class individuals of the PPP.
Family Background
Faisal Mumtaz is the son of former Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir Mumtaz Hussain Rathore and Begum Farhat Rathore, who herself was a member of the Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly and the President of the PPP Women’s Wing.
His father, Mumtaz Hussain Rathore, served as a Senior Minister after the 1975 elections, Prime Minister in 1990, Leader of the Opposition in 1991, and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in 1996.
After the death of Mumtaz Hussain Rathore, his eldest son, Masood Mumtaz Rathore, was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the remaining term in 1999.
Education
Faisal Rathore received his early education from Rawalpindi and completed his graduation from Punjab University.
Political Journey
Faisal Rathore first contested elections from LA-17 Haveli Kahuta in 2006. In the 2011 elections, he was elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly on a Pakistan Peoples Party ticket and served as the Minister of Education and Minister of Electricity in the cabinet of Chaudhry Abdul Majeed. In 2016, he was arrested in a political case, but was later found innocent.
On March 23, 2017, Faisal Rathore was appointed Secretary General of the Pakistan Peoples Party Azad Kashmir, and has held this position to this day.
He was elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly for the second time in the 2021 elections and played a strong opposition role.
In 2023, he was elected as the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development in the coalition government of Chaudhry Anwarul Haq and was also appointed as the head of the negotiation committee with the Awami Action Committee.
Faisal Mumtaz Rathore is popular among political and military circles, the Awami Action Committee, and the public due to his conciliatory, soft-spoken, and non-controversial personality.
