Barrister Iftikhar Gilani elected 17th Prime Minister of Azad Jammu & Kashmir

MUZAFFARABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Barrister Syed Iftikhar Ali Gilani has been elected as the 17th Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

In the election held in the AJK Legislative Assembly, Gilani secured 30 votes, while Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate Sardar Mukhtar Ahmed Abbasi received 14 votes.

The AJK Legislative Assembly has a total of 53 seats, but 46 members are currently part of the House as elections have not yet been held for seven seats in the Poonch and Sudhnoti districts. The PML-N and its allied parties currently have the support of 32 members, while the PPP has 14 members.

A total of 44 members cast their votes in the election. PML-N regional president Shah Ghulam Qadir did not attend the session, while Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Tariq Farooq also did not cast his vote.

After the counting of votes, the Speaker announced Barrister Iftikhar Gilani as the successful candidate. Members present in the House and people in the galleries congratulated him following the announcement.

Gilani was nominated for the AJK premiership by PML-N President Nawaz Sharif. His nomination had reportedly led to some differences within the party, but the party leadership maintained its support for him during the election.

Barrister Iftikhar Gilani has previously served as a member of the AJK Legislative Assembly. He was first elected to the assembly in 2011 and has also served as AJK education minister. In the current assembly, he was elected on a technocrat seat.

He contested the election against PPP candidate Sardar Mukhtar Ahmed Abbasi, who secured 14 votes. Gilani’s 30 votes gave him a clear majority and enabled him to take over the top political office in Azad Kashmir.

Barrister Iftikhar Gilani succeeds PPP’s Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, who was elected AJK prime minister in November 2025.

With Gilani’s election, the PML-N has assumed leadership of the government in Azad Kashmir. The new administration is expected to focus on political stability, administrative matters, development projects and the region’s key political and diplomatic issues.