MUZAFFARABAD: Dr Muhammad Najeeb Naqi Khan of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has been elected the 25th president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), ending a months-long vacancy in the constitutional office.
Dr Najeeb Naqi secured 32 votes in the presidential election held at the AJK Legislative Assembly on Thursday, defeating Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate Chaudhry Latif Akbar, who received 13 votes.
The office had remained vacant since January following the death of former president Barrister Sultan Mahmood. The election came after the PML-N nominated Dr Najeeb Naqi for the presidency earlier this month.
He takes over the constitutional office after a political career spanning more than three decades, during which he served as a member of the AJK Legislative Assembly, member of the AJK Council and held several ministerial portfolios.
Who is Dr Najeeb Naqi?
Dr Muhammad Najeeb Naqi Khan is a physician-turned-politician from Pallandri in Sudhanoti district of AJK. Born in Rawalpindi on January 19, 1964, he received his early education at Aitchison College in Lahore and later obtained an MBBS degree from King Edward Medical College, Lahore.
He entered politics following the death of his father, Colonel (r) Muhammad Naqi Khan, who was himself involved in AJK politics. Dr Najeeb Naqi was first elected to the AJK Legislative Assembly in 1991.
During his first term, from 1991 to 1996, he served as parliamentary secretary for health and planning and development. He returned to the Assembly in 1996 and subsequently served as a member of the AJK Council from 2001 to 2006.
He returned to the AJK Assembly in 2006 and served as minister for health, education and information technology. He was again elected to the Assembly in 2011 and later became a senior figure in the PML-N’s AJK politics.
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After winning the 2016 election, he served in the PML-N government as minister for health and finance and also held the planning and development portfolio.
He had previously served as health minister from 2006 to 2011 and again held the health portfolio from 2016 to 2021. His political career has been closely associated with Sudhanoti.
He has represented the area in the AJK Legislative Assembly on multiple occasions and has also been associated with development initiatives in the district.
Dr Najeeb Naqi returned to the AJK Assembly in the 2026 elections from Pallandri on a PML-N ticket. His nomination for the presidency followed the formation of the new Assembly, in which the PML-N and its allied member held 32 seats, while the PPP had 14 lawmakers.
With his election on September 24, Dr Najeeb Naqi has moved from a long career in parliamentary and ministerial politics to the largely constitutional office of president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
