Pakistan Muslim League-N leadership has nominated technocrat lawmaker Barrister Syed Iftikhar Gilani for the office of Prime Minister in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, prompting reservations from some senior party figures as the assembly session is deferred.
The leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) has finalized technocrat lawmaker Barrister Syed Iftikhar Gilani as its candidate for the Prime Minister of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, according to party developments.
The decision has drawn internal reservations from several senior PML-N leaders. In light of the ongoing political consultations, the legislative assembly session scheduled for the election of the Prime Minister has been deferred by one day to allow for further deliberations.
Barrister Gilani hails from a prominent political family in Muzaffarabad with deep ties to the PML-N, counting among the founding members of the party in the region. He completed his foundational education in Islamabad before moving to the United Kingdom, where he earned his Bar-at-Law degree from a recognized institution. Following his return to Pakistan, he practiced law in Islamabad for approximately a decade.
His political career in the region's legislative assembly spans multiple terms. He first contested and won a seat in the 2011 legislative assembly elections on a PML-N ticket, securing victory despite facing an electoral alliance between the Pakistan Peoples Party—which held regional power at the time—and the Muslim Conference.
In the 2016 general elections, Barrister Gilani retained his seat in the assembly by defeating his political rival, Khawaja Farooq Ahmed, by a substantial margin.
During his subsequent tenure as the region's Minister for Education, he introduced several structural reforms within the department. His initiatives included implementing recruitment through the National Testing Service (NTS) to promote merit-based hiring, alongside measures aimed at raising educational standards and establishing professional benchmarks for educators.
The nomination comes as the political leadership in Islamabad engages with regional figures to finalize the formation of the new administration in Azad Kashmir.