Dr Najeeb Naqi Elected AJK President
Dr Najeeb Naqi of PML N was elected president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir with 32 votes, defeating PPP’s Chaudhry Latif Akbar who received 13 votes. The vote took place at the AJK Legislative Assembly Secretariat from 11am to 1pm.
Under the AJK Constitution the president is chosen by a majority of the 45 assembly members. Naqi has previously served as health minister and has held the education and information technology portfolios. He was slated to contest the 2026 polls, but elections in seven Poonch constituencies were postponed because of law and order concerns.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated Naqi, expressing confidence in his leadership and pledging federal cooperation. Speaker Chaudhry Tariq Farooq welcomed the new president, while opposition leader Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin alleged rigging, a claim dismissed by the Speaker and former prime minister Raja Farooq Haider.
Leader of the House Iftikhar Gillani praised Naqi, describing his election as a breeze of fresh air for Poonch division and urging a stronger legislature. The AJK president’s office had been vacant since January after the death of Barrister Sultan Mahmood.
