Web Desk: Shah Ghulam Qadir is set to become the next prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir after the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) nominated him for the top constitutional office.
Party sources confirmed on Tuesday that Qadir will take the oath of office on Thursday at 5 p.m. at the High Court Ground in Muzaffarabad.
His nomination followed a four-hour consultation in Lahore last week involving PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.
The development comes after the AJK general elections, which were conducted in three phases between July 27 and Aug. 10.
Polling took place in 38 of the 45 directly contested constituencies. The PML-N emerged as the largest party, securing 25 seats, while the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) won 12.
Meanwhile, the sole elected member of the Awami Dast-o-Bazu party joined the PML-N, further strengthening the party’s position in the assembly.
The new 53-member AJK Legislative Assembly subsequently began its parliamentary term, with 46 newly elected lawmakers taking their oaths.
Speaker Latif Akbar administered the oath during the inaugural session. Among those sworn in were 31 PML-N members, 14 PPP members and one member of the Awami Dast-o-Bazu party.
Qadir brings more than three decades of political and parliamentary experience to the office.
He has held several senior positions in the AJK government, including minister for finance, planning and development, food and information. He has also served twice as speaker of the AJK Legislative Assembly.
Qadir currently heads the PML-N’s AJK chapter and serves as leader of the opposition. He holds a master’s degree in political science, which he completed in the 1980s.
His political career began as a student leader before he entered mainstream politics. He later served as a councillor of the Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation in the late 1980s.
Qadir initially joined the All-Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference, where he advanced through the party ranks and eventually served as its secretary general during Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan’s presidency.
He later became one of the founding figures of the PML-N in AJK and emerged as one of the party’s senior leaders. His role in strengthening the party’s organisational network and electoral operations eventually led to his appointment as its AJK president.
Qadir has won election to the AJK Legislative Assembly seven times. He has also held senior parliamentary responsibilities, including two terms as assembly speaker, during which he focused on parliamentary discipline, legislative oversight and constitutional governance.
Qadir has represented the Kashmir Valley-IV constituency reserved for Kashmiri refugees and has regularly raised issues concerning displaced Kashmiris.
He has also represented AJK at international forums, including the United Nations General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council, where he advocated the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination.
As opposition leader, Qadir continued to call for greater parliamentary accountability, constitutional governance and stronger democratic institutions.
His political outlook emphasises AJK’s accession to Pakistan, parliamentary supremacy, constitutional democracy and institutional stability, while supporting peaceful and democratic means to pursue the rights of Kashmiris.
With the PML-N now commanding a clear majority in the AJK Assembly, Qadir’s expected oath on Thursday will formally mark the start of the new administration.
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