Kashmir assembly elects prime minister

Islamabad: The legislative assembly in Pakistan Kashmir elected Raja Farooq Haider Khan new prime minister of the state at a session in Muzaffarbad.

Haider Khan, backed by the Muslim Conference party, secured 29 votes while his rival Sardar Yaqub 19 in the 49-member legislative assembly.

The election followed the unseating of Yaqub from the post earlier this month when he resigned in the face of no-trust motion by the Muslim Conference to throw him out.

The new state premier comes from a well-known Kashmiri political family.

His predecessor had support of a four-party alliance including Kashmir branch of Pakistan Peoples Party.

The Pakistan government rejected allegations of interfering in the Kashmir electoral process and assured the polls would be fair.