Nawaz Sharif’s Plan for PoK PM Remains Unfulfilled, Iftikhar Gilani Takes Charge

Islamabad: The picture of the new government in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir i.e. PoK has become clear. Iftikhar Ali Gilani of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was elected prime minister on Friday. In the voting held in Muzaffarabad, Geelani got 30 out of 44 votes, while Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate Mukhtar Ahmed got 14 votes.

How did Iftikhar Gilani win?

Iftikhar Geelani's name was decided by Nawaz Sharif on Thursday. A day later, Geelani cleared the way for the post of Prime Minister by securing majority in the Assembly.

During the election campaign, Nawaz Sharif had said in PoK that if PML-N wins the elections, he will demand Shehbaz Sharif make Geelani the Prime Minister of PoK. However, Nawaz Sharif himself was not a candidate in these elections and is not even a member of the current assembly.

How many seats are there in PoK Assembly?

There are a total of 53 seats in the so-called assembly of PoK. Of these, the public votes directly on 45 seats, while the remaining 8 seats are reserved for women, technocrats and religious classes.

At present there are 46 members present in the House. Elections could not be held on 7 seats in Poonch and Sudhanoti districts due to deteriorating law and order. 44 MLAs took part in the voting held on Friday. The Speaker kept his distance from the voting, while Shah Ghulam Qadir also did not attend the House due to differences with the party.

When were the elections held in PoK?

PoK assembly elections were held in three phases on July 27, August 2 and August 3. Violent clashes took place at many places during the elections and allegations of large-scale rigging were also made.

In the results of 38 directly elected seats, Nawaz Sharif's party had won 25 seats, while Bilawal Bhutto's party had won 12 seats. The Awami Dast-e-Baju Party, which won one seat, also later supported Nawaz Sharif's party. Of the 8 reserved seats, 6 also went to PML-N and 2 seats went to the opposition.

Why did JAAC's opposition increase the problems of the new government?

Large-scale protests have been taking place in PoK since the beginning of June under the banner of Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC). The organization is raising several issues including the demand to abolish the 12 seats reserved for refugees.

During the protests, civilians and security personnel also died at many places. After the situation worsened, the local administration banned JAAC in June. In such an environment, it will be a big challenge for Geelani to run the new government as well as to calm the movement.

What is Pakistan's stance regarding PoK?

India considers Pakistan's occupation of PoK as illegal. India's clear stand is that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral parts of India and Pakistan has forcibly and illegally occupied these areas.

After the election of Geelani as Prime Minister in PoK, now the focus will be on how the new government deals with violent protests and local discontent and whether it is able to maintain political stability in the region or not.