Azad Kashmir Supreme Court orders summoning of separate assembly session for election of new PM

MUZAFFARABAD, April 16 (SABAH): Azad Kashmir Supreme Court has ordered summoning of the separate session of the AJK Legislative Assembly in 14 days for the election of the new leader of the house on Saturday. The court delivered judgment on the appeal field by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf against the Azad Kashmir High Court to suspend the proceedings of the AJK legislative assembly conducted by Speaker Chaudhry Anwarul Haq on Friday. The court has directed President Azad Jammu and Kashmir Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry to summon the legislative assembly session and speaker should issue the schedule and hold voting for new prime minister position. The court said that president could summon the new session after half an hour.

Pakistan People’s Party leaders Chaudhry Latif Akbar and Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin had approached the high court to suspend the proceedings of the assembly conducted by speaker after the resignation of prime minister AJK Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan Niazi.

The speaker wanted to elect the new leader of the house during the current assembly session; however the PPP objected this move and approached the high court for stopping the process of the election of the new prime minister. The high court on Friday suspended the proceedings conducted by speaker and restrained the election of new leader of the house till Monday. After the high court order, PTI approached the Supreme Court and requested the court to suspend the high court order. However the AJK Supreme Court four-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice Raja Saeed Ikram and comprising Justice Raza Ali Khan, Justice Khawaja Muhammad Naseem and Justice Muhammad Younis Tahir delivered the judgment on Saturday.

Meanwhile the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly met in Muzaffarabad on Saturday. The house waited till the decision of the AJK Supreme Court regarding the election of the new leader of the house.

The AJK Supreme Court listened to the arguments of both parties and concluded that a session of the Legislative Assembly convened for the no-confidence vote cannot proceed motion for election of the leader of the house.

The court said it is the right of AJK President to summon a new session of the assembly to elect a leader of the house within 14 days. After the decision of the court, the session was prorogued.