AJK power talks: Zardari, Shehbaz discuss coalition possibilities

President Asif Ali Zardari has contacted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif by telephone to discuss the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) decision to form a government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), taking the premier into confidence over the move, sources said on Sunday.

According to party sources, Prime Minister Shehbaz has tasked the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) AJK Affairs Committee with holding negotiations with the PPP on the matter.

The committee is headed by Ahsan Iqbal, with Rana Sanaullah and Amir Muqam as members. Before initiating talks with the PPP, the committee had begun consultations with the PML-N’s AJK leadership.

The prime minister has also formed a separate committee, led by Ahsan Iqbal, to determine whether or not the party should support the PPP’s bid for government formation in AJK.

It is noteworthy that the PML-N’s parliamentary party in AJK has already announced its decision to sit in opposition.

The PPP, however, is seeking PML-N’s backing to install its own prime minister in AJK. If the PML-N declines, PPP leaders are reportedly considering reaching out to members of a 20-member forward bloc to secure support for government formation.

Read: PPP sets sights on AJK throne

Earlier, PPP had decided to form a new government in AJK after President Asif Ali Zardari approved a no-confidence motion against the incumbent AJK prime minister.

According to PPP AJK President Chaudhry Yasin, the party has formally decided to move ahead with forming its own government in the region. "The PPP has made a final decision to form its government in Azad Kashmir," Yasin told reporters after high-level party meetings in Islamabad.

He said that the parliamentary party's detailed consultations on the region's political situation and government formation took place in two sessions - the first chaired by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and the second by President Asif Ali Zardari, who also serves as the party's co-chairman.

"All members of the parliamentary party attended the meeting," Yasin said, adding that the president endorsed the party's decisions regarding the political strategy in AJK.

He confirmed that a no-confidence motion against the AJK prime minister would be tabled next week. "The president has approved the no-confidence move against the prime minister of Azad Kashmir," Yasin said.

He announced that Bilawal would unveil the name of the new AJK prime ministerial candidate on Tuesday.

"Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari himself will announce the name of the new prime minister," Yasin stated.

Yasin said that the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) were "on the same page" in AJK politics, adding that the "PML-N will vote in our favour when the no-confidence motion is tabled".