Muzaffarabad: Former ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has decided to take the opposition benches in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly after Imran Khan-led party lost its premier and its cadres split into factions.

The decision was made after PTI chief Imran Khan chaired a key meeting with top leaders to discuss the political situation in Azad Kashmir. PTI leaders exchange views on the situation after the election of the new Prime Minister in AJK’s Legislative Assembly.

With its decision to sit in opposition, PTI mulled appointing Khawaja Farooq as the Leader of the Opposition. Amid the split, the PTI chief said members of the Legislative Assembly who attend the parliamentary party meeting convened by Khawaja Farooq will be recognised as part of the party. Other members will face expulsion from the party.

In the latest development, former premier Abdul Qayyum Niazi has been named as the Chairman of PTI in Azad Kashmir.

Earlier, Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, a forward bloc member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was elected unopposed as the 15th Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), dealing a setback to PTI.