Gillani secures 30 votes against PPP candidate Mukhtar Ahmed Abbasi, who received 14 votes in AJK Assembly election
muzaffarabad
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-backed Barrister Syed Iftikhar Ali Gillani was sworn in as the 17th prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Friday.
He was administered the oath by AJK Acting President Chaudhry Tariq Farooq in a televised ceremony held in the AJK Legislative Assembly, Muzaffarabad.
In his maiden speech as premier, the newly elected AJK prime minister thanked PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, Rana Sanaullah and other senior party leaders for their support.
“I will work hard round the clock to ensure that I maintain the confidence of the party leadership and the people in our government,” he said.
The premier also called on the people of AJK, particularly fellow lawmakers elected to the lower house, to join him in his efforts to take the region forward. “Let us move forward together and build an AJK that is exemplary to the whole world,” he said.
Addressing the ceremony, the premier said his government would make provision of livelihood opportunities its top priority. “This will enable the youth to achieve a better future,” he said, adding that livelihood was closely linked to access to education, healthcare and other essential amenities.
Noting that it was impossible to give government jobs to all Kashmiris, he said there was a need to rely on technology to create jobs and livelihood. “AJK will digitalise the economy,” Gillani stressed, acknowledging a need to widen internet access across the valley.
