As a result, the coalition party’s strength in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly has risen to 27 members, enough to form the next government.

According to details, five PTI ministers, Chaudhry Yasir, Muhammad Hussain, Chaudhry Muhammad Akhlaq, Chaudhry Arshad, and Chaudhry Muhammad Rasheed, met with PPP leaders Faryal Talpur and Chaudhry Riaz in Islamabad, where they announced their formal inclusion in the PPP.

Later, four more ministers from the PTI forward bloc, Faheem Akhtar Rabbani, Abdul Majeed Khan, Muhammad Akbar Ibrahim and Asim Sharif Butt also joined the PPP during a separate meeting with Faryal Talpur.

Welcoming the new members, Faryal Talpur said the PPP has always been a true representative of the people of Azad Kashmir and will continue its struggle for their political and economic rights.

Sources confirmed that AJK Minister for Higher Education Zafar Iqbal Malik has also joined the PPP after meeting with Faryal Talpur and Chaudhry Riaz, bringing the party’s total strength to 27, the majority needed to form the government.

Party insiders claim that the PPP intends to form the new government without seeking support from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

Also Read: Zardari and Shehbaz join hands for PPP-led government in AJK

A dinner hosted by Faryal Talpur is scheduled tonight at Sindh House, Islamabad, where PPP’s parliamentary members, representatives from refugee seats, and members of the Barrister Sultan group will participate.

Reports suggest that Barrister Sultan’s group, along with five refugee-seat members and two undisclosed supporters, has pledged its votes to the PPP. With over 30 lawmakers now backing it, the PPP appears poised to take charge of the AJK government — a move approved by President Asif Ali Zardari just a day earlier.