Overview
- Rathore was elected with 36 votes to 2 in the 53-member assembly, with 14 lawmakers abstaining and 27 required for a majority.
- PML‑N voted to remove Chaudhry Anwar‑ul‑Haq but said it will sit on the opposition benches rather than join the new government.
- PPP consolidated its numbers through PTI forward-bloc defections and withdrawals of support by figures including Deewan Chughtai and Taqdees Gillani.
- He took the oath at the President House in Muzaffarabad, administered by Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar and attended by PPP leaders and regional governors.
- In his first address, Rathore pledged administrative reforms, third‑party recruitment, limits on official vehicles and secretaries, talks with the JAAC, and work on hydropower agreements with Pakistan.