Polling for 21 seats in AJK’s second election phase tomorrow

WEB DESK: Campaigning for the second phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly elections ended Friday night, with polling on 21 seats scheduled for August 2.

The Election Commission has completed all arrangements and begun dispatching election material and staff to polling stations. Voting will take place from 8am to 5pm on nine seats in Muzaffarabad division and 12 seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees in Pakistan.

A total of 208 candidates are contesting the nine Muzaffarabad division seats, where 890,621 registered voters are eligible to cast their ballots. The division comprises Muzaffarabad, Neelum and Jhelum Valley districts. According to the Election Commission, 1,483 polling stations and 2,219 polling booths have been set up across the division.

Within Jhelum Valley district, a total of 177,500 registered voters are set to cast their ballots across its two constituencies. LA-32 (Jhelum Valley-I) has 90,710 registered voters, including 48,200 men and 42,510 women, with 162 polling stations set up in the constituency, 51 sensitive, 32 highly sensitive and 79 normal. LA-33 (Jhelum Valley-II) has 86,790 registered voters, comprising 45,553 men and 41,237 women, with 155 polling stations established, including 52 sensitive, 57 highly sensitive and 46 normal.

A close contest is expected among the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Pakistan Peoples Party, Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party, Jamaat-e-Islami and independent candidates.

For the 12 refugee seats, 143 candidates are in the running, with 438,777 registered voters eligible to cast ballots. A total of 1,057 polling stations have been established across all four provinces for this purpose.

Kashmiri refugees residing in Pakistan will vote for six seats each from Jammu and Valley constituencies. The Jammu seats span LA-34 (Jammu-1) to LA-39 (Jammu-6), while the Valley seats span LA-40 (Valley-1) to LA-45 (Valley-6).

Constituencies LA-28, LA-29 and LA-31 in Muzaffarabad have been designated highly sensitive. More than 4,000 security personnel will be deployed for polling, with a Quick Response Force from the armed forces also on standby to ensure voter safety.

PML-N secures early lead as AJK Election Commission notifies first-phase results

The AJK Election Commission has officially notified the results of all 13 constituencies in Mirpur Division, confirming the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) as the dominant party in the first phase of the Legislative Assembly elections. According to the notification issued by Election Commission Secretary Raja Muhammad Shakeel, the PML-N won nine seats, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) secured four.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, along with other party leaders, lodged a protest, alleging that the PML-N had rigged the first phase of the elections and arguing that the polls could not be considered free and fair. The PML-N rejected the allegations, dismissing the claims of electoral manipulation.

In Mirpur district, the PML-N claimed two of the four seats through Azhar Sadiq and Chaudhry Rukhsar Ahmed, while the PPP won the remaining two with Qasim Majid and Chaudhry Yasir Sultan. The PML-N swept all three constituencies in Bhimber, where Colonel (retd) Waqar Ahmed Noor, Chaudhry Abdul Razzaq and Chaudhry Tariq Farooq were declared successful. In Kotli, the party secured four of six seats through Umair Naeem, Raja Muhammad Asif, Raja Riasat Khan and Raja Ayaz Ahmed, while the PPP won two seats with Malik Zafar Iqbal and Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin.

The official notification formally confirmed the election of all 13 members from Mirpur Division, giving the PML-N a clear advantage at the outset of the three-phase electoral process. After the second phase concludes tomorrow, the final phase will be held in Rawalakot Division as political parties intensify campaigns for control of the AJK Legislative Assembly.

Clashes during elections

Clashes between security forces and supporters of the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) had overshadowed the first phase of legislative elections, with conflicting claims over the death toll. Police confirmed that two security personnel, including a Pakistan Rangers official, were killed and several others injured during violence in Rawalakot after polling ended. Authorities alleged JAAC supporters opened fire on security forces, attacked a security post, torched police and military vehicles, and attempted to disrupt the electoral process. The government also accused JAAC-linked social media accounts of spreading fabricated videos to incite unrest.

JAAC, however, rejected the allegations, insisting its supporters were holding peaceful demonstrations when security forces opened fire. The group claimed at least 30 supporters were killed and more than 50 injured. Police said they could not verify the group’s casualty figures without official medical documentation. The violence followed the government’s ban on JAAC under anti-terrorism laws, a move the group has strongly denied and challenged.