Shah Ghulam Qadir nominated as AJK prime minister

The lone MLA of the Awami Dast-o-Bazu party joined hands with the PML-N.On Tuesday, party sources confirmed that Qadir would be the next prime minister and would take the oath on Thursday at 5pm at High Court Ground in Muzaffarabad.

Qadir is a highly distinguished and seasoned political leader of AJK with a public career spanning more than three decades and has held a range of senior parliamentary and ministerial roles, including serving as minister for Finance, Planning and Development, minister for the Department of Food, and twice as speaker of the AJK Legislative Assembly.

He currently serves as president of PML-N AJK and leader of the Opposition. He did his master's in political science in the 1980s'.

Born into a respected Kashmiri family with ancestral roots in Srinagar, Qadir's political career began with the All–Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference, where he rose rapidly through the ranks and later served as secretary general while Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan was the president. Read:PML-N takes command as AJK Assembly sworn in.

Known for his parliamentary proficiency, organisational leadership, and consistent commitment to democratic institutions, Qadir has been a prominent advocate for the rights and aspirations of the people of AJK. He began his political journey as a student leader and was also elected as a councillor of the Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation in the late 1980s.

His electoral journey began with a successful mandate from the Kashmiri refugees constituency, Kashmir Valley-IV, through which he consistently articulated the concerns of displaced Kashmiris and supported the internationally recognised principle of self-determination for the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

He also represented Kashmir on international platforms, including speaking at the UN General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council. In the evolving political landscape of AJK, Qadir was one of the founding members of PML-N in AJK and became one of its most senior and influential leaders.

His leadership strengthened the party’s organisational structure, electoral readiness and coordination with central PML-N leadership, culminating in his appointment as party president. Read More:Qadir slams Kabul over Kashmir remarks. Qadir has demonstrated enduring public trust through seven electoral successes in AJK’s Legislative Assembly and has served in ministerial capacities, including as minister for Information.

In his second tenure as speaker of the AJK Legislative Assembly, he emphasised parliamentary discipline, constitutional governance, legislative oversight and institutional development. As leader of the Opposition, he continued to advocate democratic accountability, constitutional governance and the strengthening of democratic institutions while representing opposition positions constructively within the Assembly.

Qadir's political philosophy centres on accession of the state of AJK to Pakistan, constitutional democracy, parliamentary supremacy and institutional stability and pursuing the rights of the people of AJK through peaceful and democratic means.

He is also recognised for fluency in the Kashmiri language and has been reportedly well-regarded across political circles, including by leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) to whom Qadir enjoys personal friendship. Earlier, forty-six newly elected members of the AJK Legislative.

Assemblytook the oath, formally marking the beginning of the new parliamentary term following the 2026 general elections. Assembly Speaker Latif Akbar administered theoathto the newly elected lawmakers during the inaugural session of the new assembly.

The oath-taking ceremony reflected the changed political balance in the 53-member AJK Legislative Assembly, with the PML-N emerging as the dominant parliamentary force. A total of 31 PML-N assembly members took the oath, along with one member of the Awami Dast-o-Bazu, while 14 members of the PPP also took the oath,.