Islamabad, October 26, 2025: President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a telephone conversation to discuss the evolving political situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), as the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) moves to form a new government in the region.
According to sources, President Zardari took the prime minister into confidence regarding the PPP’s strategy and upcoming moves for government formation. Following the discussion, Prime Minister Shehbaz tasked the PML-N committee on AJK affairs, headed by Ahsan Iqbal and comprising Rana Sanaullah and Amir Muqam, to hold consultations with the PPP. The committee has also begun internal deliberations with the party’s AJK chapter, the sources said.
Meanwhile, PML-N parliamentary leader and former AJK prime minister Raja Farooq Haider reaffirmed his party’s decision to remain in opposition. Addressing a parliamentary meeting, he said the party would “not be part of any government formation” and that the decision to sit in opposition “stands without change.”
In Islamabad, PPP leaders convened separate meetings chaired by President Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to finalise the party’s strategy. The session at the Presidency, attended by Faryal Talpur, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, and Qamar Zaman Kaira, endorsed moving a no-confidence motion against the incumbent AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, sources said.
President Zardari is expected to approve the final nominee for the AJK premiership following further consultations, with Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari scheduled to make a formal announcement on Monday.
Party insiders said Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin and Chaudhry Latif Akbar are among the names being considered for the top post. Speaking to reporters, Chaudhry Yasin said the PPP had made a “final decision” to form the government and that the leadership would decide on the nominee.
The AJK Legislative Assembly comprises 52 members, with 27 votes required for a simple majority. The PPP currently holds 17 seats, PML-N nine, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf four, while the Muslim Conference and Jammu Kashmir Peoples Party each hold one seat. A 20-member forward bloc also exists within the assembly.
With PML-N having publicly announced it will sit in opposition, the PPP is reportedly intensifying efforts to win over members of the forward bloc to secure a majority.
Sources said Prime Minister Anwarul Haq has begun consultations amid speculation of an impending in-house change, which could occur either through resignation or a no-confidence vote. He is expected to make a key decision within 48 hours, they added.
PPP leaders claimed they have secured the numbers to table and pass a no-confidence motion if the incumbent refuses to step down, though the party has not yet publicly demonstrated its assembly strength.
Speaking outside Zardari House, Qamar Zaman Kaira described the political situation in AJK as “delicate for all parties,” noting that PPP would hold further consultations with President Zardari before making formal announcements.
While PML-N’s AJK president Shah Ghulam Qadir has confirmed his party will remain in opposition, PPP sources said “important political developments” are expected in the coming days as talks continue between the two sides.
