Islamabad- In another setback to Imran Khan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir (PcK), Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi, has resigned following a revolt in the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party against him.
Niazi, hand-picked by his party chief Khan, resigned on Thursday after 25 lawmakers of his party moved a resolution of no-confidence motion against him to replace him with party’s regional president Sardar Tanveer Ilyas.
Niazi’s ouster comes days after Khan lost a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly to become the first Pakistan prime minister to be removed unceremoniously from power.
Under Article 16 (1) of the Constitution, “I, the undersigned, resign from my office of the prime minister , reads the handwritten resignation dated April 14, which was addressed to the PcK president Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry.
Dr Asif Hussain Shah, secretary of presidential affairs, confirmed that Chaudhry has received and accepted Niazi’s resignation and forwarded the same to the chief secretary for issuance of a formal notification, Dawn newspaper reported.
Niazi came to power last year after PTI secured 32 seats in the 53-member House.
The ruling party lawmakers had charged Niazi with loss of the trust of the parliamentary party, failure to highlight Kashmir issue and implement party manifesto in addition to bad governance, nepotism and violation of merit , the Dawn report said.
Speaking at a presser in Islamabad on Thursday, Niazi said baseless allegations have been levelled against him in the no-trust resolution.
I first sent my resignation to the party chairman Imran Khan and then to the president after a lapse of one hour, he said, adding that he would continue to work as an ordinary worker of the party.
Niazi was part of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference before leaving it to join the PTI three years ago. He was also elected from the platform of the Muslim Conference in 2006 and has also served as the Minister of Food.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
