Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Five members of Azad Jammu Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Saturday met Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad and announced to join the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), showing full confidence in his policies and leadership.

Former Legislative Assembly speaker Anwarul Haq, former minister Shahzad Chaudhry, Ali Shan Soni, Ali Raza Bukhari, and Sagheer Chughtai are the Kashmiri leaders who joined the ruling party before the general elections in the state.

During the meeting, the lawmakers expressed full trust in Prime Minister Imran Khan’s leadership, vision and the PTI’s policies. They lauded the prime minister the way he steered Pakistan out of economic crisis through prudent and coordinate strategy and he contested the case of Kashmir and Islam at international level.

They told the prime minister that they decided to join the PTI after getting inspired by PTI’s vision and practical measures and with an objective to carry forward his vision. Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Minister for Kashmir Affairs Ali Amin Gandapur, and PTI leaders including Saifullah Niazi, Amir Kiani, Arshad Dad, Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry and others attended the meeting.

In a tweet, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has approved the list of candidates for contesting the ensuing elections of Azad Jammu Kashmir Legislative Assembly on the PTI ticket.

In a tweet, he said that the names of the PTI ticket aspirants on some constituencies would be announced later. Some 300 candidates had applied for contesting the upcoming elections on 45 constituencies of the Legislative Assembly of the state on the ruling party ticket.

The Election Commission announced to hold the general elections in Azad Jammu Kashmir in July 2021. It may be noted that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf decided against forming any political alliance for the election of the Legislative Assembly.