Such federal and provincial support indicates cooperation between AJK’s new leadership and authorities in Islamabad and Punjab, with potential implications for development funding and administrative support, while the immediate institutional priority remains completing the electoral process and addressing political issues through constitutional and democratic mechanisms.

Prime Minister Gillani acknowledged this incomplete state of affairs in his remarks to the assembly, stating that it was regrettable that elections were not held in seven constituencies of Poonch and adding that his government was trying to complete the electoral process there soon, though no new polling date has been announced .

The completion of the constitutional leadership structure with the president, prime minister, and speaker now in place has moved AJK into a new phase of parliamentary governance, and for a region that has experienced its share of political turbulence, this is a welcome development .

The three highest constitutional offices in Azad Jammu and Kashmir are now held by individuals from its three divisions, with President Dr. Muhammad Najeeb Naqi representing Poonch, Prime Minister Barrister Syed Iftikhar Ali Gillani representing Muzaffarabad, and Speaker Chaudhry Tariq Farooq representing Mirpur. Naqi, from Sadhnoti-Palundri, was elected the 25th president with 32 votes against Chaudhry Latif Akbar’s 13, filling the position vacant since Barrister Sultan Mahmood’s death in January and completing the constitutional leadership following the 2026 Assembly elections. A politician with more than three decades of experience, Naqi previously served as health minister from 2006–2011 and 2016–2021 and held education, information technology, finance, and planning and development portfolios. His election was particularly significant for Poonch, where several constituencies could not vote because of security concerns. The presidential election was conducted indirectly by Assembly members, unlike the phased July-August public elections for the 53-seat Assembly; Speaker Farooq announced the result, and Chief Justice Saeed Akram Raja administered Naqi’s oath in a ceremony attended by Gillani, Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Amir Muqam, and other dignitaries. Gillani, born in Muzaffarabad in 1980, was elected the 17th prime minister on August 28 with 30 votes against PPP candidate Sardar Mukhtar Ahmed Abbasi’s 14. A SOAS University of London graduate and Lincoln’s Inn barrister called to the Bar in 2005, he entered the Assembly through a 2011 by-election, retained his seat in 2016, served five years as education minister, and returned on August 24 through a technocrat/professional reserved seat before becoming prime minister, with PML-N leadership reaching consensus on his nomination. Farooq, the 16th Speaker, secured 32 votes against PPP’s Chaudhry Qasim Majeed’s 13, won from Bhimber by defeating former AJK prime minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, and has previously served as senior-most minister, Public Accounts Committee chairman, Deputy Opposition Leader from 2016–2021, and minister several times. Outgoing Speaker Chaudhry Muhammad Latif Akbar administered his oath, after which Farooq administered the oath to Deputy Speaker Ahmed Raza Qadri.

The three leaders are reported to be friends and........

© Minute Mirror