Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi, the Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, dismissed five ministers on Thursday, accusing them of misconduct, corruption, and suspicious actions.
Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, Abdul Majeed Khan, Ali Shan Soni, Khawaja Farooq, and Akbar Ibrahim have been removed from the cabinet, according to a notification issued by the prime minister.
They were fired for misconduct and alleged corruption, according to a spokesperson for the AJK prime minister.
“On the grounds of misconduct, wrongdoings, and malpractices, members of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly are removed forthwith from office as ministers,” said the announcement.
The news came a day after an allegedly tense meeting between AJK Prime Minister Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi and PTI Chairman Imran Khan at his Bani Gala home in Islamabad.
In response to the PTI MPs’ no-confidence resolution, Niazi accused former Kashmir affairs minister Ali Amin Gandapur of plotting a plot against him after collecting Rs300 million, according to party sources.
According to the sources, the allegations startled Imran Khan, who quickly constituted an investigative committee led by the party’s vice-chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
Later, the AJK prime minister was informed that the investigation committee had found no evidence to corroborate the bribery claims and that the no-trust motion against him would be pursued.
Sardar Abdul Qayyum chose to resist and not surrender after conferring with his close aides.
A motion of no-confidence has been filed against AJK PM.
As many as 25 members of the ruling PTI in Azad Jammu and Kashmir filed a no-confidence motion against their own Prime Minister, Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi, on Tuesday, accusing him of failing to follow the party manifesto and causing a shambles.
According to the motion, Niazi has lost the confidence of the parliamentary party owing to non-implementation of the party manifesto, mismanagement, nepotism, breach of merit, and inability to address the Kashmir issue, which was filed under Article 18 of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Constitution.
Sardar Tanveer Ilyas has been suggested by PTI MLAs for the position of Prime Minister under the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Constitution. He is the regional director of the PTI.
