The elections for eight reserved seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly are scheduled to be held on August 24, with the newly elected members expected to take the oath the following day.Sources said the oath-taking ceremony on August 25 will mark the formation of the new AJK Legislative Assembly. After the members take the oath, the schedule for the election of the speaker and deputy speaker will be announced. The election of the new prime minister will be held after the speaker’s election.

The election for the AJK prime minister is expected to take place on August 27, sources said. Sources said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has a clear numerical advantage in the assembly and has emerged as the single largest party. The party has completed consultations for the formation of the new government.Shah Ghulam Qadir is considered the strongest candidate for the post of the 17th prime minister of Azad Kashmir, according to sources. Candidates for the eight reserved seats have also been finalised by the PML-N and Pakistan Peoples Party, sources said.

Barrister Iftikhar Gilani is expected to be the PML-N candidate for the technocrat seat, while Pir Syed Mazhar Shah is expected to contest the seat reserved for religious scholars and spiritual leaders. Chaudhry Abdul Rehman is likely to be nominated by the PML-N for the overseas seat.For the women’s reserved seats, Maryam Idrees from Mirpur, Maryam Kashmiri from Muzaffarabad and Seharish Qamar from Poonch are expected to be elected on PML-N tickets. The PPP is expected to field Zobia Khursheed Raja and Farzana Yaqoob for two women’s reserved seats.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)