Newly Elected AJK PM Takes Oath, Vows to Deliver for the People

News Desk 

Muzaffarabad: Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Tuesday during a ceremony held at the President House. Acting AJK President Chaudhry Latif administered the oath.

The event was attended by a wide array of political leaders, including PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, PPP political affairs head for AJK Faryal Talpur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, Gilgit-Baltistan Governor Syed Mehdi Shah, PPP AJK President Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin, former AJK presidents and prime ministers, senior PPP leaders, PML-N leaders, members of the legislative assembly, senior government officials, and a large number of party workers.

Chief Secretary Khushhal Khan read the official notification, while Secretary Presidential Affairs Shahid Ayub conducted the proceedings.

In his address after taking oath, Prime Minister Rathore expressed gratitude for being entrusted with leadership during a defining period for AJK. He acknowledged the weight of responsibility but said he believed that “Allah burdens a person only as much as he has the capacity to bear.”

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Rathore pledged transparent and effective governance, crediting Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and the PPP leadership for their confidence in him. He noted the party’s rise from 11 to 29 seats, and stressed that with only six months to govern, “each day would be equal to six months” in terms of effort.

He said his government would prioritize education, healthcare, justice, and strengthening the accountability process to better serve citizens. The challenging political environment, he added, demanded unity and commitment from all political forces in Azad Kashmir.

Reflecting on his family’s five-decade association with the PPP, Rathore recalled the roles played by his father, Raja Mumtaz Hussain Rathore, under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto.

“Today, in 2025, I have been elected Prime Minister. Our relationship with the PPP spans half a century and will continue with the same commitment,” he said, while thanking President Asif Ali Zardari and Faryal Talpur for their support.

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Calling AJK the “base camp of the Kashmir freedom movement,” Rathore stressed the need to amplify the voices of citizens in Indian-occupied Kashmir on global forums while ensuring sustained development within AJK. He also paid tribute to Pakistan Army martyrs defending the Line of Control and reaffirmed the PPP’s clear stance on Kashmir.

Rathore thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for supporting the PPP in AJK, saying the party’s return to power had broken “political stagnation” and restored public confidence.

He vowed to uphold good governance, recalling that his father’s nine-month tenure remained widely respected. “A single day of a lion is better than a hundred years of a jackal,” he remarked, pledging to confront public grievances with full commitment.

Rathore also announced plans to hold open courts to improve service delivery at the grassroots level, promising dignity, respect, and responsive governance for the people of AJK.