AN abundance of good fortune has landed a 46-year-old barrister, Syed Iftikhar Ali Gillani, in the hot seat. He will serve as the 17th prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, having been elected to the post on Friday with 30 votes from his party, the PML-N. For now, Mr Gillani heads an incomplete legislative assembly, with seven seats representing the Poonch and Sudhnoti districts yet to be filled due to the law-and-order situation in those areas. He made note of that fact in his inaugural speech, hoping that the remainder of the electoral process will be completed soon. He also promised employment, especially for the youth, recruitment on merit, transparency and anti-corruption measures, improvement in education and healthcare, digitising the economy, and launching a portal to address citizens’ grievances. That makes for a bold, positive start to what is bound to be a challenging assignment. Mr Gillani will remain under constant scrutiny, including from his own party. The recent general election in AJK has remained marred by controversy. There were frequent and vociferous accusations of impropriety and alleged rigging, including from one of the PML-N’s most important allies at t
