rki.news | Altaf Hamid Rao
MIRPUR (AJK), Sept. 17 — Dr Muhammad Najeeb Naqi Khan, the PML-N nominee for the presidency of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, is a veteran politician with more than three decades of parliamentary and governmental experience.
The AJK presidential election is scheduled for Sept. 24, 2026, according to the election schedule. PML-N President Muhammad Nawaz Sharif nominated Dr Najeeb Naqi for the constitutional office and directed him to submit his nomination papers.
Born in Rawalpindi on Jan. 19, 1964, Dr Najeeb Naqi belongs to a prominent political, social and educational family of Poonch whose public service legacy spans generations.
His grandfather, Khan Sahib Colonel Khan Muhammad Khan, popularly known as “Baba-e-Poonch” and “Ghazi-e-Kashmir,” was a soldier, political leader, social reformer and educationist who played a prominent role in the Kashmir freedom movement.
After retiring from the British Indian Army, Colonel Khan Muhammad Khan devoted himself to education and social welfare. He launched the “Muthi Bhar Aata” scheme, through which flour collected from households was sold and the proceeds used to establish educational institutions.
In 1934, he founded the Sudhan Educational Conference and was elected to the Jammu and Kashmir Praja Sabha, the first legislature of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir, serving until 1946. He later vacated his seat for young Barrister Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan.
During the 1947 Kashmir freedom struggle, Colonel Khan Muhammad Khan served as Chairman of the War Council and was involved in the movement for Azad Jammu Kashmir.
Dr Najeeb Naqi’s father, Colonel (retd) Muhammad Naqi Khan, served in the Pakistan Army before entering AJK politics. He was Adviser to the Prime Minister from 1975 to 1977 and later served as a member of the AJK Legislative Assembly and Minister for Health and Food.
Dr Najeeb Naqi received his early education at Aitchison College, Lahore, and earned his MBBS degree from King Edward Medical College, Lahore. Following his father’s death in 1990, he entered practical politics and was first elected to the AJK Legislative Assembly in 1991.
He subsequently served as Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Planning and Development and later became a member of the AJK Council. He returned to the Assembly in 2006 and served as Minister for Health and Population Welfare, later also holding Information Technology and Education portfolios.
Elected for a fourth Assembly term in 2011, he served as an opposition member until 2016. He secured his fifth Assembly term in 2016 and joined the PML-N government, holding portfolios including Health, Finance and Planning and Development.
Dr Najeeb Naqi has been elected to the AJK Assembly five times and has held several key governmental and parliamentary responsibilities. His nomination continues a longstanding political tradition associated with his family in Poonch.
Poonch Family Political Legacy Continues With Najeeb Naqi
