AJK forms 20-member cabinet under pact with Awami Action Committee

Cabinet includes 18 members and two advisers to Prime Minister Raja Mumtaz Rathore

A 20-member Azad Jammu and Kashmir cabinet, including two advisers, has taken oath after being formed in line with an agreement reached with the Joint Awami Action Committee, which required the cabinet size not to exceed 20 members.

Acting Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Chaudhry Latif Akbar administered the oath to 18 ministers at a ceremony in Muzaffarabad on Wednesday, while Prime Minister Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore swore in the two advisers. One woman minister has been included in the new cabinet.

The oath-taking ceremony was attended by former AJK president and prime minister Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob Khan, former prime minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan, the chief secretary, inspector general of police, departmental secretaries and a large number of Pakistan Peoples Party workers.

The ministers who took oath included Mian Abdul Waheed, Sardar Javed Ayub, Javed Iqbal Budhanvi, Chaudhry Arshad Hussain, Chaudhry Muhammad Rasheed, Ali Shan Soni, Syed Bazil Ali Naqvi, Sardar Muhammad Hussain Khan, Chaudhry Yasir Sultan, Chaudhry Ikhlaq Ahmed, Chaudhry Aamir Yasin, Sardar Ziaul Qamar, Zafar Iqbal Malik, Diwan Ali Khan Chughtai, Chaudhry Muhammad Rafiq Nair, Chaudhry Qasim Majeed, Sardar Faheem Akhtar Rabbani and Nabila Ayub.

Read More: AJK action committee matters settled

PM Rathore administered the oath to Sardar Ahmed Sagheer and Sardar Fahad Yaqoob as advisers to the government. During the ceremony, Secretary Services and General Administration Zafar Mehmood Khan read out the official notification of appointments.

With the swearing-in of the new cabinet, the government has completed a key stage of its formation. Officials said the administration remains committed to honouring the agreement with the JAAC and addressing public demands going forward.

After a deadly protest that left 10 people dead in October, the government struck a deal with the JAAC to de-escalate tensions and address public grievances. Under the agreement, the size of the cabinet was to be capped at 20 members, including ministers and advisers. The pact also restricts the number of administrative secretaries to no more than 20 at any given time.

Rathore of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was elected the 16th Prime Minister of AJK on Monday after Chaudhry Anwarul Haq was removed through a no-confidence motion in the state's Legislative Assembly. He received 36 votes in the 53-member assembly, where only 44 legislators were present. The PPP secured victory for its candidate with the support of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.