Imran Khan's party elects Sardar Tanvir Ilyas as new Prime Minister of PoK

Muzaffarabad [PoK]: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Sardar Tanvir Ilyas has been elected unopposed as the 14th Prime Minister of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The election on Monday follows the decision of Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi on Thursday to step down from the post. After Niazi's resignation, a meeting was held to elect a new leader for the PM slot.

Ilyas had submitted nomination papers on behalf of PTI which were declared valid by the secretary assembly. Former Pakistan Prime Minister and Chairman of PTI Imran Khan nominated Ilyas as the party's candidate for PoK PM position.

On the other hand, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) jointly fielded Chaudhry Yasin for the top post, reported The Express Tribune.

With no end to political turmoil in Pakistan's politics, the Monday session also saw a ruckus wherein the united opposition boycotted the session for the Prime Minister election for the PoK region. With no candidate in the race for election, Ilyas secured 33 votes in his favor.

The election of the PoK PM was out under Article 13 of the Constitution and Rule 15 of the legislative assembly. The PTI was leading in the House with 32 members and had the support of the Muslim Conference.

As per the sources, the move of Niazi to resign from his position comes in the wake up of a revolt against him within the party that saw the submission of a no-confidence motion against him by his own party.

On Tuesday, as many as 25 members of the ruling PTI in PoK had filed a no-confidence motion against their own PM Niazi, accusing him of failing to implement the party manifesto and creating a mess. The motion, which has been filed under Article 18 says Niazi has lost the confidence of the parliamentary party due to non-implementation of the party manifesto, mismanagement, nepotism, and breach of merit.

The PTI MLAs had proposed the name of Sardar Tanveer Ilyas for the PM's slot. The first prime minister of PoK, Khan Abdul Hameed Khan, was elected on July 5, 1975. PoK has had a parliamentary system since 1985. Sardar Sikandar Hayat, Sardar Atiq Ahmad Khan, and Raja Farooq Haider Khan had twice held the office of PoK PM, reported the media outlet.