Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Barrister Syed Iftikhar Ali Gilani has been elected as the new Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). He became the 17th person to hold the office after a voting session of the AJK Legislative Assembly in Muzaffarabad on Friday.
The election was contested between Gilani and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate Sardar Mukhtar Ahmed Abbasi.
| Candidate | Party | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Iftikhar Ali Gilani | PML-N | 30 |
| Mukhtar Ahmed Abbasi | PPP | 14 |
Gilani is a lawyer and holds a barrister’s degree from Britain. He first entered AJK politics in 2011, when he was elected to the Legislative Assembly from Muzaffarabad. He retained his seat in the 2016 elections and later served as education minister for five years.
Although he contested the 2026 general elections, he did not win his constituency. He was later inducted into the AJK Assembly on a technocrat seat and was nominated by the PML-N for the top government position.
His election gives the PML-N leadership of the AJK government after the party emerged as the largest parliamentary group in the recent elections.
