AJK elections: Kaira claims PPP worker killed, accuses polling staff of arriving late at stations

MUZAFFARABAD: Senior Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) leader Qamar Zaman Kaira on Sunday alleged that party leader Chaudhry Latif Akbar was attacked during the second phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections, claiming that a PPP worker had also been killed.

Speaking at a press conference alongside Chaudhry Majeed, Kaira said the party had participated in the elections despite expressing reservations over the electoral process and the prevailing law and order situation.

Kaira alleged that Latif Akbar was targeted in his constituency and said the party had received reports that one of its workers had lost his life during the violence. Kaira also accused polling staff of arriving late at many polling stations, alleging that in some areas polling personnel were taken away by supporters of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), who then stamped ballot papers. He further claimed that election materials failed to reach three union councils in LA-28, while referring to reports that polling in LA-27 was affected by rainfall.

Questioning the credibility of the electoral process, Kaira said a government formed through disputed elections would face questions over its legitimacy, adding that the PPP believed the AJK elections had been “taken away” from the party.

Earlier, the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) has alleged electoral irregularities during the second phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections, with Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari calling on the Election Commission to take immediate action.

In a post on social media platform X, Bilawal said the Election Commission had failed to address the party’s complaints regarding the first phase of the AJK elections. He said timely action on those complaints could have helped restore the credibility of the second phase of polling.

Bilawal stated that the PPP reserves the right to stage protests and demand re-polling if the reported irregularities are not addressed. He further claimed that the party had already submitted multiple written complaints alleging ballot stuffing and the unlawful removal of its polling agents from polling stations during the ongoing elections.

The PPP chairman expressed hope that the Election Commission would act without delay and ensure transparency and fairness, at least during the second phase of the electoral process.

Separately, PPP Parliamentarians Secretary General Nayyar Bukhari has condemned the alleged attack, saying it reflected growing desperation among political opponents in the Muzaffarabad Division.

Bukhari described the incident as an attack on a constitutional office of the state and demanded the immediate arrest of those responsible. He said the Pakistan Peoples’ Party would not be intimidated by pressure or coercion. He also alleged that obstacles were being created to prevent voters from reaching polling stations in Muzaffarabad and said the Election Commission was responsible for ensuring citizens could exercise their right to vote without fear. Bukhari added that the PPP had already submitted dozens of complaints to the Azad Kashmir Election Commission regarding the electoral process.

In a separate statement, People’s Party’s leader Nadeem Afzal Chan on Sunday said that unfair tactics being used to hand over power to a specific political party in Azad Kashmir. PPP leader in a statement expressed reservations over the transparency of the second phase of Azad Jammu and Kashmir election. He said that the polling staff and electoral material could not reach in several constituencies in the second phase. “We have filed more than 15 complaints,” he said.

He said it will be very difficult to accept the election as free, fair and transparent if the situation not redressed. “We don’t intend to boycott the election but want the change with the ballot,” PPP leader said. “It seems to become an ultra Form 47 election,” Nadeem Afzal Chan alleged.