PML-N's Dr Najib Naqi Khan elected Azad Kashmir president
He defeated PPP's Chaudhry Latif Akbar by 32 votes to 13, filling the vacancy left by Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry's death in January.
Dr Najib Naqi Khan of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was elected president of Azad Kashmir, winning 32 votes in the Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly. His opponent, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) nominee and former speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar, received 13 votes.
Voting took place at the Legislative Assembly secretariat from 10am to 1pm. PPP member Qasim Majeed could not cast his vote because he was abroad.
The election filled the vacancy left by former president Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry, who died in January 2026. After his death, the then speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar served as acting president. Following the election of Chaudhry Tariq Farooq as speaker on 25 August, Farooq took over the acting president’s duties. UrduPoint reported that Dr Najib Naqi Khan later took the oath of office.
The Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly has 53 seats, of which 46 are currently filled. Elections were held in phases in July and August, but seven seats in Poonch and Sudhanoti districts could not be contested because of security conditions. On 28 August, PML-N’s Barrister Syed Iftikhar Gillani was elected the region’s 17th prime minister with 30 votes, defeating PPP’s Sardar Mukhtar Ahmad Khan, who got 14.
Under Azad Kashmir’s constitution, the president is elected by members of the Legislative Assembly, and a candidate must win a majority of the house’s total membership. The PML-N and its allies hold 32 seats, while the PPP has 14.
Dr Najib Naqi Khan belongs to Pallandri in Sudhanoti district. He is a doctor and holds an MBBS degree from King Edward Medical College. His father, retired Colonel Muhammad Naqi Khan, was active in Azad Kashmir politics and served as health and food minister. Dr Najib entered politics after his father’s death in 1990 and has been elected to the Legislative Assembly from Pallandri five times. He has also served as a member of the Azad Kashmir Council.
According to Independent Urdu, his political efforts are credited with helping Sudhanoti gain district status in 1995. Independent Urdu also reported that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated Dr Najib Naqi Khan and expressed hope that he would work for development, prosperity and public welfare in Kashmir.
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