Opposition cries foul as AJK govt appoints seven PSC members amid ongoing polls

PTI questions timing of seven PSC appointments, says move should have been left to new govt

The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government has appointed seven new members to the AJK Public Service Commission (AJKPSC) for a three-year term, drawing criticism from opposition parties, which have questioned the timing of the appointments amid the ongoing general elections.

A notification issued by the AJK government on August 8 said the seven members had been appointed to the constitutional body responsible for conducting competitive examinations and overseeing recruitment to various public-sector posts across AJK.

The appointments come at a politically sensitive juncture as the AJK general elections are being held in phases and the electoral process is still underway. Opposition parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), have termed the move politically motivated and questioned the propriety of making such appointments while the election process is in progress.

The PTI senior leader Khawaja Farooq criticised the appointments, saying that making such decisions during the election process was “not morally good” and that the appointments should have been left to the new government that received a fresh mandate from the people of AJK.

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He argued that appointments to important public institutions should be made by the government formed after the elections so that the new administration could exercise its mandate without inheriting decisions taken during the transition period.

The development is likely to intensify the political debate over the outgoing government's role in appointing leaders to key public institutions, at a time when the electorate is choosing a new leadership for the region.

The seven newly appointed members of the AJK Public Service Commission are Midhat Shehzad, Munir Hussain Chaudhry, Dr Liaqat Hussain, Muhammad Zahid Khan, Dr Abdul Qudoos Khan, Dr Abdul Hameed and Muhammad Saleem Khan.

The AJKPSC plays a key role in the recruitment of officers and officials through competitive and selection processes, making its composition politically significant, particularly during a period of transition in AJK.

The government has not, so far, publicly responded to the opposition's criticism or explained the timing of the appointments in the context of the ongoing electoral process.