MUZAFFARABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has consolidated its lead over the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) as it won majority of the seats in the second phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly general elections.
As results were awaited from two constituencies, the PML-N has grabbed 14 seats including from refugee constituencies while the PPP won five seats in the second round of elections.
Polling was originally scheduled in nine territorial constituencies — five in Muzaffarabad district and two each in Neelum and Jhelum Valley districts — besides all 12 refugee constituencies.
However, the Election Commission deferred polling in LA-27, Muzaffarabad-I (Kutla) until Tuesday after polling staff and election material could not reach the constituency because of landslides and bad weather that blocked the Neelum Valley road and its link roads. Polling at 71 of the 174 polling stations in LA-28 Muzaffarabad-II (Lachhrat) was also postponed until Tuesday for the same reason.
Voting in the remaining polling stations of the constituency was held as scheduled. However, due to a delay in the arrival of polling staff and election material, polling was affected at several locations. Consequently, the Election Commission extended polling by one hour in the territorial constituencies, while polling in the refugee constituencies ended at the scheduled time of 5pm.
The PPP alleged that one of its workers, Syed Mushtaq Shah, was killed in an attack by PML-N supporters. The PML-N rejected the allegation, claiming the man suffered a cardiac arrest following a scuffle between two groups.
PPP candidate and Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar also wrote to the AJK chief election commissioner, alleging security lapses, firing incidents, interference in polling, prevention of polling agents from entering polling stations and denial of voting rights. He also claimed there had been an attempt on his life in which Advocate Syed Mumtaz Hussain Naqvi was injured, and called for an investigation and legal action against those responsible.
Clashes between workers of the two major parties, some involving the use of firearms, were also reported from different areas, though no casualties were immediately reported.
In continuation of its criticism of the PML-N over the AJK polls, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari accused his ruling partner of “robbing” the mandate.
“The PML-N is robbing the votes of the people of Azad Kashmir through bullets, batons and coercion,” he alleged. In a post on X, he condemned an “attack” on the party’s regional president, Chaudhry Latif Akbar — also the candidate for LA-31 (Muzaffarabad-V). Accusing “miscreant elements of the PML-N” of being behind the incident, Bilawal said PPP worker Mushtaq Shah was killed in the same constituency. He demanded that those responsible for the attack on Akbar and the “murderers” of the party worker be arrested.
In a separate statement, Bilawal said, “The PML-N has crossed all limits. Attacks are taking place on our voters and the president of the state (AJK).”
Following is the details of AJK Legislative Assembly election results:-
LA-25 Neelum Valley-I: In LA-25 Neelum Valley-I, PML-N candidate Shah Ghulam Qadir won with 18,925 votes, defeating PPP’s Mian Abdul Waheed, who received 13,596 votes.
LA-26 Neelum Valley-II: PPP secured victory in LA-26 Neelum Valley-II, where Mian Abdul Waheed received 17,466 votes, ahead of PML-N’s Shah Ghulam Qadir, who polled 15,494 votes.
LA-29 Muzaffarabad-III: In LA-29 Muzaffarabad-III, PPP candidate Sardar Mukhtar Khan won the seat with 19,792 votes, while PML-N’s Barrister Iftikhar Ali Gilani finished second with 16,413 votes.
LA-30 Muzaffarabad-IV: PML-N regained momentum in LA-30 Muzaffarabad-IV, where Mustafa Bashir Abbasi secured victory with 17,749 votes. PPP candidate Mubashir Munir Awan came second with 11,947 votes.
LA-31 Muzaffarabad: PML-N candidate Raja Saqib Majeed secured victory in LA-31 Muzaffarabad with 17,947 votes, defeating PPP candidate Chaudhry Latif Akbar, who received 12,143 votes.
LA-32 Muzaffarabad-VI: Former AJK Prime Minister Raja Muhammad Farooq Haider of PML-N won LA-32 Muzaffarabad-VI with 21,156 votes, defeating PPP candidate Sahibzada Muhammad Ashfaq Zafar, who secured 19,010 votes.
LA-33 Muzaffarabad-VII: PPP’s Diwan Ali Khan Qamar Chughtai won LA-33 Muzaffarabad-VII with 25,469 votes, while PML-N’s Mian Muhammad Rashid received 21,175 votes.
LA-34 Jammu-I: In the refugee constituencies, PML-N’s Nasir Hussain Dar won LA-34 Jammu-I with 5,682 votes, defeating independent candidate Raja Riaz Ahmad, who polled 2,124 votes.
LA-35 Jammu-II: PML-N candidate Chaudhry Muhammad Ismail won LA-35 Jammu-II with 23,893 votes, ahead of independent candidate Sardar Muhammad Ghayas, who secured 5,868 votes.
LA-36 Jammu-III: PML-N also retained LA-36 Jammu-III, where Muhammad Ahsan Raza received 27,218 votes, while PPP’s Ahsan Ismail finished second with 12,980 votes.
LA-37 Jammu-IV: In LA-37 Jammu-IV, PML-N’s Maryam Javed won with 28,664 votes. Jammu Kashmir United Movement candidate Usman Aleem came second with 22,827 votes.
LA-38 Jammu-V: PML-N candidate Zeeshan Ali secured victory in LA-38 Jammu-V with 13,652 votes, defeating Muslim League AJK candidate Muhammad Akbar Chaudhry, who received 9,523 votes.
LA-39 Jammu-VI: PML-N continued its winning run in LA-39 Jammu-VI, where Raja Muhammad Siddiq secured 10,981 votes, while PPP’s Chaudhry Fakhar Zaman received 5,081 votes.
LA-40 Kashmir Valley-I: PPP claimed LA-40 Kashmir Valley-I, with Amir Abdul Ghaffar winning 2,914 votes. Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party candidate Muhammad Saleem Butt finished second with 136 votes.
LA-41 Kashmir Valley-II: PML-N candidate Muhammad Amir Shah won LA-41 Kashmir Valley-II with 1,804 votes, defeating independent candidate Saba Diwan, who secured 588 votes.
LA-42 Kashmir Valley-III: In LA-42 Kashmir Valley-III, PML-N’s Syed Shaukat Ali Shah secured victory with 1,524 votes, while PPP’s Muhammad Asim Sharif received 477 votes.
LA-43 Kashmir Valley-IV: PML-N also won LA-43 Kashmir Valley-IV, where Muhammad Yasin Lone received 1,276 votes, ahead of PPP’s Javed Butt, who secured 563 votes.
LA-44 Kashmir Valley-V: In LA-44 Kashmir Valley-V, PML-N candidate Muhammad Ahmad Raza Qadri won with 1,700 votes. All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference candidate Mehr-un-Nisa finished second with 650 votes.
LA-45 Kashmir Valley-VI: PPP concluded its successful constituencies by winning LA-45 Kashmir Valley-VI, where Abdul Majeed Khan secured 3,448 votes, defeating All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference candidate Khawaja Muhammad Dilawar, who received 823 votes.
The Election Commission of AJK is yet to announce the final official results.