Nawaz Sharif Nominates Dr Najeeb Naqi for AJK President Ahead of September 24 Election

• PML-N has nominated Dr Muhammad Najeeb Naqi for the AJK presidency and directed him to submit nomination papers.
• Nominations will be filed and scrutinised on September 19, with withdrawals allowed until September 23.
• The presidency has remained vacant since Barrister Sultan Mahmood’s death in January, with assembly speakers serving as acting president.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Nawaz Sharif has nominated Dr Muhammad Najeeb Naqi as the party’s candidate for president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, ahead of the election scheduled for September 24.

Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb announced the nomination on Wednesday, saying Dr Naqi had been instructed to submit his nomination papers. She congratulated him on behalf of the party and conveyed her best wishes.

The AJK Election Commission has scheduled polling at the Legislative Assembly Secretariat on September 24, from 10am to 1pm. Votes will be counted and the result announced the same day after polling concludes.

Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Ghulam Mustafa Mughal outlined the election timetable at a media briefing on Tuesday. Candidates must submit their nomination papers to the returning officer on September 19 between 10am and noon, with scrutiny taking place that day.

Candidates will have until 11:30am on September 23 to withdraw their nominations. Mughal said the president would be elected by a majority vote.

The office has remained vacant since Barrister Sultan Mahmood died in January 2026. Chaudhry Latif Akbar, who was then speaker of the Legislative Assembly, initially performed the duties of acting president.

Incumbent Speaker Chaudhry Tariq Farooq subsequently assumed the acting presidency after his election as speaker on August 25.

Senior Election Commission Member Khawaja Muhammad Ahsan and Member Syed Nazir-ul-Hassan Gilani also attended the briefing at which the election schedule was announced.