PPP’s Akbar elected as AJK assembly speaker

Chaudhry Latif Akbar, a leader of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), was elected as the 14th speaker of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly on Saturday. Garnering 19 votes, Akbar's election to the coveted position was, however, not without its share of controversy.

A dissident faction of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party—comprising 11 members— opted to abstain from participating in the voting process while other members of the PTI and opposition boycotted the vote.

Akbar has previously served both as a parliamentarian and the leader of the opposition. A resounding support for his candidacy came from the PPP and the Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). He took the oath of office from Deputy Speaker Chaudhary Riaz Gujjar.

Earlier, the ruling coalition, in a rare display of unity and determination, successfully overcame a significant hurdle by introducing the 15th constitutional amendment. Previously, the PML-N government had limited the maximum number of ministers in the AJK cabinet to 16 through the 13th amendment.

Members of the ruling coalition—comprising the PML-N, the PPP, and the dissident faction of the PTI— however, removed this hurdle by a two-thirds majority. In a 52 member house, 40 lawmakers voted in favor of the 15th constitutional amendment.

The PTI members occupying the opposition benches opted to boycott the proceedings, signaling their discontent with the constitutional amendment.
Following the successful passage of the constitutional amendment, the stage was set for the election of the speaker. Initially, an engaging contest was anticipated between Akbar representing the PPP and Maqbool Gujjar, a PTI candidate.

However, at the eleventh hour the PTI members decided to boycott the election process altogether.