PML-N's Najeeb Naqi elected as 25th president of AJK

Dr Muhammad Najeeb Naqi Khan of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) has been elected Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) 23rd president.

Naqi secured 32 votes while Chaudhry Latif Akbar of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) got only 13 votes. One PPP lawmaker from Mirpur Qasim Majeed did not attend the Assembly session. 

President Khan’s political career, which began in Sudhnoti in Poonch division more than three decades ago, has taken him from the Legislative Assembly to the Kashmir Council and several key ministerial portfolios. He is now the PML-N’s candidate for president of AJK. 

The 62-year-old politician comes from a prominent political family. His grandfather, Colonel Khan Muhammad Khan, is remembered in AJK’s political history as the “Baba-e-Poonch”, while his father, Colonel Muhammad Naqi Khan, was also active in politics.

Following his father’s death, Naqi entered practical politics in the 1990s and was first elected to the AJK Legislative Assembly in the 1991 elections. During that term, he served as parliamentary secretary for health and planning and development.

He was re-elected to the assembly in 1996 on the Muslim Conference MC ticket and subsequently served as a member of the AJK Council from 2001 to 2006.

In the 2006 elections, he again won an assembly seat on the MC ticket and served in the government, holding portfolios including health, population welfare, colleges and information technology.

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Naqi joined the PML-N and was elected to the AJK Legislative Assembly on the party ticket in the 2011 elections. He retained his seat in 2016 and served as a minister for several key departments, including health, finance and planning and development, until 2021. The PML-N’s central leadership nominated him this month as its candidate for the AJK presidency.

His political career has thus spanned multiple roles as an elected legislator, parliamentary secretary, Kashmir Council member and cabinet minister, culminating in his election as president for the AJK’s highest constitutional office.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated Naqi, expressing his best wishes to him on assuming the constitutional office

According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), PM Shehbaz said Naqi’s election was a reflection of the confidence placed in him by the people of AJK.

The prime minister expressed hope that Naqi would discharge his responsibilities effectively and play a constructive role in the development, prosperity and welfare of the people of AJK.

PM Shehbaz also reiterated the federal government’s commitment to providing full support for the development and prosperity of the people of AJK.