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MUZAFFARABAD, Nov 18 (APP): Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) newly elected Prime Minister Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore took oath of his office here at President House on Tuesday .The oath was administered by the Acting President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Chaudhry Latif.
The ceremony was attended by Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, PPP In-Charge for Political Affairs in Azad Kashmir Faryal Talpur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, Gilgit-Baltistan Governor Syed Mehdi Shah, PPP Azad Kashmir President Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin, former President and Prime Minister Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob Khan, former Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan, PML-N Azad Kashmir President Shah Ghulam Qadir, senior PPP leader Chaudhry Muhammad Riaz, members of the legislative assembly, government secretaries, heads of departments, and a large number of PPP workers.
Chief Secretary Khushhal Khan read out the official notification, while Shahid Ayub, Secretary Presidential Affairs, performed duties as the master of ceremonies.
Addressing the gathering after taking the oath, Prime Minister Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore expressed gratitude, saying he thanked Allah for entrusting him with the heavy responsibility of leading the government during a challenging period.
He said that fulfilling this responsibility would not be easy, but he believed that “Allah burdens a person only as much as he has the capacity to bear.”
He vowed to justify the trust placed in him by Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and pledged to ensure transparent and effective governance.
He highlighted the PPP’s significant growth, noting that the party’s strength had risen from 11 seats to 29. He added that while the previous government took six months to form a cabinet, his government had only six months in total — and “each day would be equal to six months.”
Rathore emphasized that the government would prioritize delivering education, healthcare, justice, and an improved accountability process to the common citizen. He called the current political environment a major challenge for the PPP’s leadership as well as the wider political leadership of Azad Kashmir.
Reflecting on his family’s longstanding association with the PPP, he recalled that in 1975, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto appointed his father, Raja Mumtaz Hussain Rathore, as a senior minister, and in 1990, Benazir Bhutto entrusted him with the office of Prime Minister. “Today, in 2025, I have been elected Prime Minister. Our relationship with the Pakistan Peoples Party spans half a century and will continue with the same commitment,” he said. He expressed special gratitude to President Asif Ali Zardari and Faryal Talpur for their confidence in him.
Calling Azad Kashmir the “base camp of the Kashmir freedom movement,” Rathore said it was essential to play that role effectively by amplifying the voices of the people of Indian-occupied Kashmir internationally while ensuring development within Azad Kashmir remained a top priority.
He paid tribute to the martyrs of the Pakistan Army defending the Line of Control and reiterated PPP’s longstanding and clear stance on Kashmir.
Rathore thanked Prime Minister of Pakistan Mian Shehbaz Sharif for supporting the PPP in Azad Kashmir, and stated that once the PPP formed the government, “the political stagnation broke, and confidence and calm returned among the people.”
He reaffirmed his commitment to delivering on the trust placed in him by party leadership. Remembering his father’s nine-month tenure, he said it was still fondly recalled for its effective governance. He declared, “A single day of a lion is better than a hundred years of a jackal,” adding that as a committed PPP worker serving as Prime Minister, it was his duty to address people’s sense of deprivation.
He announced plans to hold open courts to ensure service delivery at the grassroots level and vowed to restore dignity, respect, and service to the people.