MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): The Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) has won the majority of reserved seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly on Monday.
As per details, PML-N won six of the eight reserved seats in the AJK Assembly, taking its total strength in the 53-member house to 32, while Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) won the remaining two seats.
PML-N previously had 25 members in the assembly from constituencies. With the addition of its reserved-seat members and the support of the lone MLA of Awam Dast-e-Bazu, the party now has the numbers to form the next government.
Polling was held for five seats reserved for women and one each for technocrats, Ulema-e-Din, or Mashaikh. PML-N candidate Barrister Iftikhar Gilani won the technocrat seat with 26 votes, while PPP candidate Zulfiqar Ali received 12 votes.
On the seat reserved for Ulema-e-Din, or Mashaikh, PML-N’s Muhammad Mazhar Saeed secured 26 votes, defeating PPP candidate Hafiz Tariq, who received 12 votes.
The PML-N also won three of the five seats reserved for women. Maryam Zaman, Maryam Idrees and Seharish Qamar were elected, while PPP candidates Farzana Yaqoob and Zobia Khurshid Raja won the remaining two seats.
The seat reserved for Overseas Kashmiris had already been won unopposed by PML-N candidate Abdul Rehman Arain.
Following the latest results, the PML-N has 32 members in the assembly, while the PPP has 14.
The results mark the next stage in the formation of the government in Azad Kashmir. The assembly will elect its speaker and deputy speaker on Tuesday, while the election for the AJK prime minister is scheduled for August 27.
AJK elections conclude
The elections were held in three phases under a revised schedule announced by AJK Chief Election Commissioner Ghulam Mustafa Mughal on July 21. The first phase covered all 13 constituencies in Mirpur Division, while polling in Muzaffarabad Division and the 12 refugee constituencies was held on August 2, followed by Poonch (Rawalakot) Division on August 10.
The AJK Election Commission on August 7 announced that polling would proceed as scheduled in four constituencies — Bagh Central, Bagh East, Bagh West and Haveli, while voting in seven constituencies would be postponed due to security concerns.
The seven constituencies included five in Poonch district and two in Sudhnoti district. The commission said the decision followed a report by the AJK home secretary highlighting security concerns in parts of the two districts.
The postponement came against the backdrop of deteriorating security conditions in Poonch Division, where tensions have persisted since late July. Violent clashes erupted in Rawalakot between police and members of the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) after the group attempted to enter the city during the first phase of the AJK elections.
The first phase of the election concluded with polling across Mirpur Division, while the second phase covered nine constituencies in Muzaffarabad Division and 12 refugee seats, bringing 21 constituencies to the polls.
However, voting in LA-27 Muzaffarabad-I and LA-28 Muzaffarabad-II was postponed after heavy rain, landslides, and adverse weather prevented election staff and polling material from reaching several polling stations.
Polling in the two delayed constituencies was held two days later under heightened security arrangements, with the PML-N winning LA-27 Muzaffarabad-I and the PPP securing LA-28 Muzaffarabad-II, formally bringing the second phase of the elections to a close. The Election Commission subsequently notified the results of all 21 constituencies contested in the second phase.
