MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): Candidates have submitted their nomination papers for four vacant seats of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Council on Thursday, with polling scheduled for October 12.
According to the election commission, Chaudhry Muhammad Saeed, Mushtaq Minhas and Chaudhry Manzoor submitted their nomination papers on behalf of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
AJK Prime Minister Iftikhar Gilani, PML-N AJK President Shah Ghulam Qadir, former prime minister Raja Muhammad Farooq Haider and other party leaders were present on the occasion.
Government ministers Colonel (retd) Waqar Ahmed Noor, Dr Mustafa Bashir, Sardar Mir Akbar and Azhar Sadiq, as well as Assembly member Noreen Arif, also accompanied the PML-N candidates.
On the other hand, Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Chaudhry Latif Akbar submitted his nomination papers for the Kashmir Council election.
PPP AJK President Chaudhry Yasin and legislators Qasim Majeed, Mukhtiar Khan and Zobia Khurshid were present with Latif Akbar.
The papers were submitted to the Secretary of the AJK Election Commission.
Four members’ seats of the Kashmir Council have fallen vacant following the expiry of the five-year terms of their previous members. The term of office of the four elected members of the Council expires on September 18.
According to the election schedule, scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on October 2, while appeals against rejected nominations can be filed on October 5. The final list of candidates is scheduled to be issued on October 9.
Polling for the four Kashmir Council seats will be held at the AJK Legislative Assembly Hall in Muzaffarabad from 10am to 1pm on October 12, followed by the announcement of the results.
