Islamabad: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday nominated his party parliamentarians, Abdul Qayyum Niazi as the next prime minister of Kashmir occupied by Pakistan after a broad consultation.
Niazi won the election of recent legislative assembly from Abbaspur-Poonch area.
The Pakistani Tehreek-I-Insaf Party (PTI) Khan has secured 32 seats at the 53 member house.
This is the first time PTI will form a government in Pok.
India has rejected the recent election in Pok, said “cosmetic sports” was none other than efforts by Pakistan to “disguise illegal work” and that he had submitted a strong protest over this issue.
Reacting strongly in the election in Pok, spokesman for the external ministry Arindam Bagchi said that Pakistan has “no local position in this Indian region” and it must empty all Indian regions under illegal work.
“Those who are called elections in the Indian region under the illegal occupation of Pakistan are nothing but effort by Pakistan to disguise illegal work and material change carried out by him in these regions,” he said last week.
“Such sports cannot hide the illegal occupation by Pakistan or human rights violations, exploitation, and rejection of freedom to people in these occupied areas,” he said.
Pakistani Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry Tweeted that Prime Minister Khan chose Niazi to lead the PTI government in Pok after a vast consultation.
“After a long consultation and review of suggestions, Pakistani Prime Minister and Chairperson of PTI Imran Khan have nominated MLA MR Abdul Qayyum Niazi who was just elected for the position of prime minister” from Pok, he wrote.
The Minister also called Qayyum as “a dynamic and original political activist, dedicated to his workers”.
Khan has interviewed several selected members on Friday and Saturday, including Sardar Tanvir Ilyas, Barrister Sultan Mahmood, Khawaja Farooq, Azhar Sadiq and Niazi.
He reportedly asked them about strategies and views on environmental, tourism and national and international problems.
The majority of experts say that Ilyas and Sultan Mahmood are the main competitors and among them most of them agreed that Ilyas is a favorite.
But Niazi proved dark horses to get the slot up even though he was almost not considered.
Niazi is a member of all Muslim Conferences Jammu and Kashmir before leaving him to join PTI two years ago.
He was also elected from the Muslim Conference platform in 2006 and also served as food minister.
The Pakistani People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan-Nawaz Muslim League (PML-N) each have 12 and 7 seats at home.
Both all Muslim conferences Jammu and Kashmir and the Kashmir Peoples each won a single chair.
The ruling party candidate Anwarul Haq and Riaz Gujjar have been chosen as speakers and representatives of speakers.