17-member AJK new cabinet takes oath, 3 ministers refused to take oath

ISLAMABAD: Seventeen members of AJK new cabinet were sworn in on Wednesday while three abstained.
The oath-taking ceremony was held here in Kashmir House. President AJK Raja Zulqarnain Khan administered the oath to while AJK Prime Minster Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan administered oath to three advisors.
Ministers of AJK Government, high officials of bureaucracy and workers of Muslim Conference participated in the oath taking ceremony.
AJK-PM and other important figures contacted with dissidents but failed to convince them to take oath.
No one among 13 members of Forward Block of Muslim Conference has been appointed as the minister while the interesting aspect of the ceremony was refusal of closest aide of AJK-PM Chaudhary Tariq Farooq to take oath despite his presence in Kashmir House. He was awarded the ministry of Planning and Development. Others who refused to take oath included Sardar Muhammad Naseer Khan and Chaudhary Sadiq Batli.
AJK-PM administered oath from three advisors included Raja Muhammad Yasin, Shamshair Ali Malik and Raja Muhammad Yasin.
AJK-PM Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan while addressing the Press Conference on the occasion recalled that he to two years ago made the announcement of formation of cabinet and the pledge has been fulfilled now.
AJK-PM said that the members of Forward Block are our friends and the internal differences with them would be resolved. He said that political stability in Azad Kashmir is vital for Pakistan as it is not in the interest of any party.
He claimed that there is no political crisis in Azad Kashmir and he has no need to show his strength and challenged his rivals to table no-confidence motion. The members of forward block in interviews with TV and newspapers are expressing their desire to become minister and we are ready to accommodate them, added by AJK-PM. He said that the federation is not creating instability in Azad Kashmir and not playing any role in this regard.
Commenting on current Pak-India tension, AJK-PM stated that both countries cannot afford war and Pakistan is raising the issue of violation of Pakistan's airspace by India on all platforms.
Ministers who took oath included Malik Muhammad Nawaz (Senior Minister and Minister for Transport and Communication), Chaudhary Muhammad Yousaf (Minister for Trade & Industries, Labour & Mangla Dam Affairs), Raja Naseer Ahmed Khan (Minister for Local Bodies and Rural Development), Abdul Rasheed Abbasi (Minister for Law, Justice, Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights), Hafiz Hamid Raza (Minister for Religious Affairs, Auqaf, Zakat and Ushr), Dr. Najeeb Naqi Khan (Health Minister), Syed Ghulam Murtaza Gilani (Minister for Agriculture, Livestock, Irrigation, Muzaffarabad City Development Project), Muhammad Shafiq Jaral (Minister for Forest), Chaudhary Muhammad Akbar (Minister for Rehabilitation and Development), Sardar Abdul Qayyum (Food Minister), Ali Shan Chaudhary (Minister for Housing and Physical Planning), Chaudhary Ruksar Ahmed (Minister for Electricity), Major (retd) Mansab Dad (Education Minister) and Chaudhary Ismail (Minister for Welfare).-Online