Supreme Court ruling: AJK Assembly prorogued, summoned tomorrow

MUZAFFARABAD: After a Supreme Court ruling, the AJK Assembly session convened for voting on a no-confidence motion and re-elect the Prime Minister was prorogued on Saturday, and as directed by the worthy court, the president will summon another session within 14 days to elect the prime minister.

The full bench of the Supreme Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) comprising Chief Justice Saeed Akhtar, Justice Khawaja Naseem, Justice Raza Ali Khan and Justice Younas Tahir, while hearing an appeal against a restraint order issued by the High Court against the election of Prime Minister, held that the order had no legal ground as the office of the prime minister cannot be kept vacant for an indefinite time.

It declared that the session summoned to take up the no-confidence motion had come to an end soon after the resignation of the prime minister.

Drawing this conclusion, the apex court directed the law department to initiate a process to summon the assembly by the President to elect the office of the Prime Minister. After initiation and approval of the summary, the president summoned the AJK Assembly on Monday to elect the prime minister.

The learned court, while referring to the Article 16(3) of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Interim Constitution 1874, observed that if the Assembly is in session at the time when the Prime Minister resigns, the Assembly shall forthwith proceed to elect a Prime Minister, and if the Assembly is not in session, the President shall for that purpose summon it to meet within 14 days of the resignation.

The court observed that the session convened by the Speaker Assembly on a no-confidence motion was no longer valid after the resignation of the Prime Minister, and the Assembly was not in session.