Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry is set to become the new President of Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) as the incumbent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government finalized his name for the top slot.
The name of Barrister Sultan Chaudhry was nominated to become the party’s candidate in the presidential election in AJK, scheduled for August 17.
He was previously a strong candidate for AJK Prime Minister’s slot along with Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan but both of them were dropped
Mr Mahmood was elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from LA-3, Mirpur-III on July 25, securing his seventh victory in nine general elections since 1985. Apart from these nine general elections, two by-elections were also held in this constituency and both were won by him.
Expecting to be nominated as the prime ministerial candidate for leading the PTI to a sweeping success, he, however, faced a blow on August 5 when Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi was picked up by Prime Minister Imran Khan for the coveted office.
Immediately after casting his vote in the assembly, the PTI regional chief had left Muzaffarabad for his constituency apparently in a state of frustration.
Earlier, PTI candidate Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi got elected as the new prime minister of Azad Kashmir by a comfortable margin.
President AJK Sardar Masood Khan had administered the oath to him, after which he became the 13th prime minister of the region, taking over the reins from former premier Raja Farooq Haider.
Niazi secured the premiership by a comfortable margin, bagging 33 votes.
The PTI emerged victorious after the recently-held Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections, bagging a total of 32 seats in the assembly.
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