Muzaffarabad, October 28, 2025 (TNS): The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) chapter has decided to file formal references for disqualification against dissident members of the Legislative Assembly who recently defected from the party to join the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
According to party sources, PTI AJK President Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi has instructed the party’s legal team to prepare references under the Election Act 2020, which allows for the disqualification of lawmakers who desert their political party. Niazi has also begun consultations with Leader of the Opposition Khawaja Farooq Ahmed and other senior leaders to finalise the strategy.
Sources said that 12 PTI lawmakers have joined the PPP as part of a forward bloc, triggering the move. Among those named are Zafar Malik, Abdul Majeed, Akbar Ibrahim, Yasir Sultan, Chaudhry Ikhlaq, Chaudhry Rasheed, Chaudhry Arshad, Faheem Rabbani, and Muhammad Hussain, along with several others.
Party insiders added that if the dissident members vote against PTI in an upcoming no-confidence motion, they could face immediate disqualification. The PTI leadership, they said, has decided to adopt a firm stance against what it views as unconstitutional defections.
Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi has reportedly already sent references against four members to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, with more to follow in the coming days.
The development comes amid a shifting political landscape in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, where the PPP claims to have secured a majority to form the government without support from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
According to PPP sources, five sitting AJK ministers — Chaudhry Yasir Sultan, Sardar Muhammad Hussain, Chaudhry Muhammad Ikhlaq, Chaudhry Arshad Hussain, and Chaudhry Muhammad Rashid — have announced their decision to join the party, giving it a clear edge in government formation.
The ministers met Faryal Talpur at Zardari House in Islamabad to formally join the PPP. Senior party leaders, including Faheem Akhtar Rabbani, Muhammad Asim Sharif, Chaudhry Muhammad Akbar, Abdul Majeed Khan, and Chaudhry Muhammad Riaz, were present during the meeting.
Faryal Talpur welcomed the new members, saying their inclusion would “further strengthen the PPP’s position in the region.” The newly joined lawmakers, in turn, expressed full confidence in the leadership of Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and President Asif Ali Zardari, pledging to contribute to the development of Azad Kashmir and the welfare of its people under the PPP banner.
The political realignment has further deepened the power struggle in AJK, where shifting alliances could reshape the region’s governing landscape in the weeks ahead.
