Bilawal says PPP capable of forming government in AJK

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has asserted that the party is in a strong position to form the government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, as the incumbent prime minister faces a no-confidence motion.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Friday, Bilawal said the PPP would serve the people of AJK during the remaining term of the Legislative Assembly. “I promise the people of Kashmir that I will not disappoint you. There is a political solution to all the problems of Kashmir, and finding solutions has always been the identity of the PPP,” he said.

Bilawal said the foundations of the PPP were laid on the cause of Kashmir and the party had represented the people of Kashmir “for three generations” at every forum. “The Prime Minister and our members of the Legislative Assembly will remain accessible to the people. If the people are not served, the responsibility will lie with Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari,” he added.

Learn more: PPP wins simple majority to form AJK government

He also rejected the suggestion that decisions regarding AJK leadership would be taken from the capital. “The name of Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir will be announced from Kashmir, not from Islamabad,” he said.

The PPP chairman recalled that the party had fully contested the previous AJK elections. “At that time, the Imran Khan government was in power and the role of the establishment was in front of everyone. Despite these circumstances, we won the elections. However, our victory turned into defeat overnight,” Bilawal said. He said apolitical decision-making has created a political vacuum in Kashmir, harming the region.

Bilawal reiterated that the PPP continued to represent the people in the assembly and has now secured the numbers needed to form the government. “We will do our best to fulfill the aspirations of the people of Kashmir. The remaining period of this assembly will be a test for us,” he said.

The PPP had earlier announced its intention to form the AJK government in a meeting chaired by President Asif Ali Zardari. The party’s Azad Kashmir parliamentary group also met in Islamabad to discuss the political landscape.

On October 26, ten members of the PTI’s advanced bloc in AJK announced their decision to join the PPP, allowing the party to obtain the required majority. The next day, the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) agreed to move a no-confidence motion against the AJK government. PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said his party would support the motion from the opposition benches.

However, a day later, in a surprise move, the PTI announced that it would dissociate itself from the opposition alliance’s no-confidence motion against the AJK prime minister and the subsequent process of electing a new prime minister, calling the move a “political game” aimed at undermining public representation.