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18 PPP Legislators Sworn in as Ministers in New AJK Premier’s Cabinet
18 legislators from PPP take oath as ministers in AJK’s new cabinet, led by PM Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore. The move signals growing political shifts in the region.
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by Muhammad Hashir
2025-11-19
18 PPP Legislators Sworn in as Ministers in New AJK Premier’s Cabinet

18 legislators from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) were sworn in as ministers in the new cabinet of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Wednesday, a day after the oath-taking of newly-elected Prime Minister Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore. The ceremony, held at Aiwan-i-Sadr in Muzaffarabad, was led by AJK Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar, who officiated in the absence of AJK President Barrister Sultan Mahmood, who could not attend due to health issues.

The new cabinet marks a key moment in AJK’s political landscape, with former AJK prime ministers Sardar Tanveer Ilyas and Haji Yaqoob Khan, along with a host of PPP supporters, attending the event. The ceremony was also witnessed by senior civil servants and political figures.

The 18 newly-appointed ministers are Mian Abdul Waheed, Sardar Javed Ayoub, Javed Iqbal Budhanvi, Chaudhry Qasim Majeed, Amar Yasin, Sardar Ziaul Qamar, Syed Bazil Ali Naqvi, Nabila Ayub Khan, Deevan Ali Chughtai, Malik Zafar Iqbal, Chaudhry Arshad, Chaudhry Muhammad Rasheed, Yasir Sultan, Sardar Muhammad Hussain, Chaudhry Akhlaq, Faheem Akhtar Rabbani, Rafique Nayyar, and Ali Shan Soni.

Of these, the first eight ministers were elected on PPP tickets in 2021, while the rest had contested on the PTI ticket but joined the PPP recently, signaling a shift in political alignments. Notably, Nabila Ayub Khan is the only female minister in the new cabinet, having been elected on a reserved seat for women. Interestingly, no legislators elected on refugee seats have been included in the cabinet, a notable exclusion in the lineup.

The specific portfolios of the new cabinet members were not immediately disclosed, though Mian Abdul Waheed has been designated as the most senior minister, as per a later-issued notification. The ceremony also saw the appointment of two new advisers to the government: Sardar Ahmad Saghir and Sardar Fahad Yaqoob, both of whom were sworn in by PM Rathore.

Sardar Ahmad Saghir’s mother, Shahida Saghir, is a directly elected MLA who previously contested on the PTI ticket but joined the PPP in recent months. Fahad Yaqoob is the son of former premier Haji Yaqoob. The constitution of AJK permits the appointment of advisers, though it remains silent on their oath-taking, which led to the formal administration of the oath by PM Rathore.

This reshuffling of political alignments comes on the heels of a turbulent period for AJK's government. Prime Minister Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore was sworn in just one day after Chaudhry Anwarul Haq was ousted through a vote of no-confidence. Rathore’s appointment marks the fourth change in leadership within AJK in as many years, further underlining the region's political volatility.

As the new administration takes shape, political observers will be keenly watching how these developments impact AJK's governance and its relationship with Pakistan's central government.
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