MUZAFFARABAD: Barrister Iftikhar Gilani of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was elected the 17th prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Friday after securing 30 votes in the Legislative Assembly.
His rival, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate Sardar Mukhtar Khan, received 14 votes, according to Express News.
The PML-N has 32 members in the 53-member house, while elections on seven seats are still pending.
Gilani has previously served as AJK education minister. He was first elected to the AJK Legislative Assembly in 2011 and returned in the current term on a technocrat seat on the PML-N ticket.
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His nomination was approved by the party leadership at a recent consultative meeting attended by Rana Sanaullah, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Shah Ghulam Qadir and Raja Farooq Haider.
Newly elected Speaker Chaudhry Tariq Farooq, Deputy Speaker Ahmed Raza Qadri and other senior party leaders also supported his nomination.
