Nawaz nominates Barrister Syed Iftikhar Ali Gilani for AJK premier

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Thursday announced that Barrister Syed Iftikhar Ali Gilani had been nominated as the party’s candidate for the office of prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

Earlier this week, Nawaz nominated Shah Ghulam Qadir as the party’s candidate for the top office in AJK after PML-N secured a majority in the AJK elections held in three phases between July 27 and August 10. Of the 45 directly contested constituencies, polling was held in 38, with the PML-N securing 25 seats and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) winning 12.

In a post on social media platform X, Aurangzeb said that Gilani had been nominated for the office of AJK prime minister following consultations within the party leadership.

Gilani, who was elected to the AJK Legislative Assembly on a technocrat seat, is expected to seek the support of PML-N lawmakers for his election as the new prime minister.

The development, however, has triggered differences within the PML-N’s AJK chapter. PML-N AJK President Shah Ghulam Qadir has reportedly expressed reservations over Gilani’s nomination and, according to party sources, has said that he would neither vote for Gilani nor attend Friday’s session of the Legislative Assembly called to elect the prime minister.

Former AJK prime minister Raja Farooq Haider has also reportedly expressed reservations over the nomination.

According to party sources, Qadir and Haider conveyed their reservations during a meeting held at the Prime Minister’s House in Islamabad on Wednesday in the presence of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Qadir has maintained that the party must respect the mandate given to it by the people of AJK and uphold its political narrative of “Vote Ko Izzat Do (respect the vote)".

Sources said the PML-N AJK president is expected to consult senior party leaders and workers before announcing his future political course.

The reported differences have added an unexpected twist to the PML-N’s government-formation process in AJK, where the party had emerged as the largest parliamentary group and was expected to form the government with relative ease.

The AJK Legislative Assembly has summoned its session on August 28 to elect the new prime minister. The nomination of Gilani and the reservations expressed by senior PML-N leaders could make the election a closely watched political contest in the parliamentary history of AJK.

Read: PML-N takes command as AJK Assembly sworn in

At the beginning of the current week, on August 24, forty-six newly elected members of the AJK Legislative Assembly took the oath, formally marking the beginning of the new parliamentary term following the 2026 general elections.

Assembly Speaker Latif Akbar administered the oath to the newly elected lawmakers during the inaugural session of the new assembly. The oath-taking ceremony reflected the changed political balance in the 53-member AJK Legislative Assembly, with the PML-N emerging as the dominant parliamentary force.

A total of 31 PML-N assembly members took the oath, along with one member of the Awami Dast-o-Bazu, while 14 members of the PPP also took the oath, according to the initial proceedings.