MUZAFFARABAD: The new Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) president will be elected on September 24, the region’s Election Commission announced on Tuesday.
The office of the AJK president has remained vacant since January following the death of Barrister Sultan Mahmood. Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar served as acting president before the role was assumed by incumbent Speaker Chaudhry Tariq Farooq after his election to the office on August 25.
Chief Election Commissioner retired Justice Ghulam Mustafa Mughal announced the schedule at a press conference. He was flanked by commission members Khawaja Mohammad Ahsen and Syed Nazeerul Hassan Gillani.
Mr Mughal said candidates would file their nomination papers, with him acting as the returning officer, from 10am to noon on Sept 19. Scrutiny of the nomination papers would be conducted the same day at his office, while candidates could withdraw their nominations by 11:30am on Sept 23, he said.
Polling will be held at the AJK Assembly Secretariat from 10am to 1pm on Sept 24, after which votes will be counted and the result announced the same day, Mr Mughal said.
With a clear majority in the 46-member Assembly, the PML-N is poised to have its nominee elected as the next AJK president.
Party sources told Dawn that former health minister Dr Najeeb Naqi, who belongs to Sudhnoti district, was most likely to be picked for the slot.
At the same time, speculation was rife that the presidential slot could be offered to the PPP as part of an effort to promote political harmony between the two parties and facilitate a joint response to the prevailing situation in AJK.
A senior PML-N leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said no such decision had been taken. “However, in politics, nothing is the final word,” he said, adding that the PML-N candidate’s name would be finalised and announced by party supremo Nawaz Sharif at an appropriate time.
Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2026
