Barrister Syed Iftikhar Ali Gilani has been nominated as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate for the office of prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). PML-N leader Marriyum Aurangzeb confirmed that Nawaz Sharif directed Gilani to submit his nomination papers for the election of the AJK prime minister. Aurangzeb stated that Gilani's nomination as the PML-N candidate for the AJK premiership was made with Nawaz's approval.

Gilani was elected to the AJK Legislative Assembly on the reserved seat for technocrats as the PML-N secured six of the eight reserved seats, further strengthening its position in the house. The eight reserved seats included five for women and one each for technocrats, Ulema and Mashaikh, and overseas Kashmiris. The PML-N won three of the five women's seats, besides securing the technocrat, Ulema and Mashaikh, and overseas Kashmiri seats. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) won the remaining two seats reserved for women. PML-N candidates Seharish Qamar, Maryam Zaman and Maryam Idrees were elected on the three women's reserved seats, while PPP candidates Farzana Yaqub and Zobia Khurshid won the other two.

Besides Gilani's victory on the technocrat seat, PML-N candidate Pir Mazhar Saeed Shah won the reserved seat for Ulema and Mashaikh, while Abdul Rehman Arain was elected on the seat reserved for overseas Kashmiris. The results took the PML-N's strength in the AJK Legislative Assembly to 31 seats, while the PPP's tally reached 14. With the support of one member of the Jammu and Kashmir Awami Dast-o-Bazu, the PML-N now has the backing of 32 members.

However, the government formation process is proceeding without seven members, as elections in seven constituencies in Poonch and Sudhnoti districts have yet to be held. The PML-N had already emerged as the largest party in the recently concluded three-phase general elections, securing 25 seats against the PPP's 11. Following the second phase of voting, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari criticised the federal government, while Nawaz Sharif urged political stakeholders to avoid turning political rivalries into personal hostilities.