MIRPUR (AJK) - Former diplomat Masood Khan Thursday was sworn in as the President of Azad Jammu & Kashmir State for next five year constitutional term.
Chief Justice of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Muhammad Azam Khan administered the oath to the newly-elected President at an impressive ceremony held at the lawn of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in the capital city Muzaffarabad Thursday morning.
AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan, outgoing AJK President Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob Khan, Federal Minster for KashmirAffairs and Gilgit/Baltistan Chaudhry Barjees Tahir, Speaker AJK Legislative Assembly Shah Ghulam Qadir, AJK Cabinet Ministers, members of the AJK Legislative Assembly from both treasury and opposition benches, high-ranking civil and military officials and the notables attended the ceremony.
Masood Khan has served the foreign service of Pakistan till his retirement, was elected as the President of AJK on August 16 with a thumping majority of votes by both the houses of the AJK parliament - the AJK Legislative Assembly (Lower House) and the AJK Council (Upper House) securing 42 votes against his only opponent PPP’s Latif Akber Ch who had bagged only six votes in the election.
PROFILE OF PRESIDENT: Kashmir-origin newly-elected AJK President Masood Khan has the distinguished career as a seasoned diplomat of Pakistan.
Masood Khan, who belongs to outskirt of Rawalakot city falling in the constituency LA-19, Poonch-III, was nominated by the PML-N as its candidate for the office of AJK President. The PML-N has won July 21 AJK general election by securing 41 directly contested seats of the AJK LA.
Born in Rawalakot tehsil of Poonch district of AJK, Khan joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1980 and went on to serve in various diplomatic positions. From August 2003 to March 2005, he served as the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Pakistan’s Ambassador to China between September 2008 and September 2012 and as Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations between October 11, 2012 and February 07, 2015. He served as the Director General of Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad between February 2015 and August 4, 2016.