ISLAMABAD: Former Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Tanveer Ilyas has ‘decided’ to leave the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) and join the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
As per the media reports, Sardar Tanveer will formally announce his decision after meeting the PPP leadership.
However, his joining the party has raised concerns among some PPP leaders in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, sources said, adding that they have urged the leadership not to give him any key posts.
There is also speculation that Tanveer Ilyas could be considered as a candidate for the post of PPP Azad Kashmir president in the future.
Earlier, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Supreme Court had declared the disqualification of former Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas null and void and allowed him to contest elections for any public office.
The court accepted Ilyas’ appeal against the disqualification, which was passed by the AJK High Court in a contempt of court case.
Ilyas had sought mercy from the court and was granted relief after a full bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Raja Saeed Akram Khan quashed the conviction. The verdict has made Ilyas eligible to contest the elections a month later.
Ilyas served as the 14th Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir from April 2022 to April 2023 and was also the President of PTI Azad Kashmir from September 2021 to April 2023.
