MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): As a no-confidence motion against AJK Prime Minister Anwarul Haq is on the cards, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Wednesday nominated Chaudhry Yasin for the office of Azad Kashmir prime minister.
According to the sources, the party’s central leadership, after long consultations, named its AJK chapter’s President as the candidate for prime ministership.
The decision was approved during a meeting at Zardari House, where PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari formally announced Yasin’s nomination, party sources said.
The names of Chaudhry Latif Akbar, Chaudhry Yasin, Faisal Rathore, and Sardar Yaqub were under consideration before Yasin’s endorsement.
Earlier, the PPP sources said that the party is expected to present a no-confidence motion against the AJK Prime Minister by Thursday or Friday.
PPP AJK Secretary-General Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, while talking to a private news channel, said that PPP and PML-N have formally signed a no-confidence motion, ending the political deadlock between both parties. PML-N’s Raja Farooq Haider has signed on behalf of his party, Rathore said.
“We currently have the open support of 37 members,” he said, adding that five additional assembly members have assured their backing for the motion.
Chaudhry Yasin profile
Chaudhry Yasin belongs to a well-known political family of Kotli district, who has earned the trust of both the party leadership and the people during his long political struggle.
He was elected as a member of the assembly from LA-10 Kotli-III constituency of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly and has contested seven general elections since 1990, winning five of them while facing defeat in two.
Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin has served as a minister and senior minister in the PPP governments in the past, while from 2016 to 2021, he was active as the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.
In September 2021, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari appointed him as the President of the PPP Azad Kashmir, after which he played an important role in making the party active at the organizational level. According to political analysts, Yasin’s vast experience, strong public support, and unwavering commitment to the party make him a strong candidate for the Prime Ministership.
His political home, Kotli constituency, has always been a stronghold of the PPP, where he won the 2021 elections by securing 9,696 votes.
In the current political situation, if the no-confidence motion is successful, Chaudhry Yasin’s rise to the Prime Ministership will not only be a political decision but also a historic comeback for the PPP. Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin’s politics is considered a metaphor for continuity, perseverance, and public service.
Now it remains to be seen whether he can reach the post of Prime Minister at this new juncture in the politics of Azad Kashmir.
