The New AJK Government’s Task

Azad Jammu and Kashmir has finally installed a new government, but the administration begins under a cloud of doubts, protests and political resentment. Voting was delayed in seven of the 45 directly contested Legislative Assembly seats, while questions over the fairness of the elections continued to shape the political debate.

The strongest criticism came from the Pakistan Peoples Party, an ally of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz in Pakistan’s national parliament. That opposition underscored the difficulties facing the new setup even before it began its work.

The election of the AJK prime minister added to the controversy. Barrister Iftikhar Gillani was not selected or recommended by the PML-N parliamentary party in the AJK Assembly. Instead, the president of PML-N Pakistan picked him for the office.

Some senior party figures resented the decision. Shah Ghulam Qadir, the PML-N president in AJK, boycotted the Assembly session that elected Gillani. The central objection, the article says, was not simply Gillani’s relative inexperience compared with veteran politicians such as former Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider or former Speaker Shah [text truncated].