Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Tuesday described the first phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections as “peaceful, fair, free and credible”, while inviting opposition parties to pursue constitutional and legal remedies if they wished to challenge the results.
Addressing a joint press conference alongside Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Amir Muqam in Islamabad, Sanaullah said the people of AJK had exercised their democratic right by electing representatives on 13 seats during polling held on July 27.
Citing Election Commission figures, he said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won nine seats, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) secured four.
“The elections were peaceful, fair, free and credible,” Sanaullah said, praising the Election Commission, the AJK administration and law enforcement agencies for ensuring orderly polling despite what he described as a challenging security environment.
He said opposition parties were free to pursue constitutional remedies if they believed electoral irregularities had occurred. “Any demand for an inquiry will be dealt with competently by the federal and AJK governments,” he said, while urging political parties to respect the electorate’s verdict.
Read: PML-N surges ahead in first phase of AJK elections
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Sanaullah congratulated the successful candidates and expressed hope that the newly elected legislature would work to address the longstanding issues facing the people of AJK.
He said the Election Commission extended polling hours because of increased voter turnout later in the day, describing the move as an effort to facilitate voters. According to Sanaullah, turnout ranged between 40% and 60%.
The premier’s aide said the only major security incident occurred in LA-9 Nakyal, where a dispute between members of the same family with differing political affiliations escalated into gunfire, leaving one person dead and another injured. He said police had arrested at least six suspects in connection with the killing.
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Sanaullah also recalled an earlier incident on July 11 in which PML-N leader Malik Ashiq was killed after gunmen opened fire on the party’s election rally in Kotli district.
He further stated that a candidate from LA-6 and members of the candidate’s campaign team attempted to retrieve ballot boxes after polling, resulting in their arrest and the registration of a first information report (FIR).
Also speaking at the press conference, Muqam said the PML-N’s victory, excluding refugee seats, demonstrated the party’s mandate to govern the region and pledged to fulfil the promises made during the election campaign.
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The PM’s aide also alleged that one of the LA-6 candidates and members of his election team attempted to retrieve post-poll ballot boxes, resulting in their arrest and registration of an FIR.
He said PML-N’s victory, excluding refugee seats, demonstrated the party’s mandate to govern the region and pledged to fulfil the promises made during the election campaign.
Sanaullah attributed the party’s victory to teamwork and said voters had responded to PML-N President Nawaz Sharif’s pledge to fulfil campaign commitments. He also credited development initiatives undertaken by the Punjab government under Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif with contributing to the party’s electoral success in AJK.
During the question-and-answer session, Sanaullah said voters acted as the ultimate arbiters in elections.
“People act like the judiciary during polls. They decide the fate of competing parties through their votes,” he said, adding that democratic norms required all political parties to accept the public’s verdict.
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Responding to a question about Nawaz Sharif becoming AJK prime minister, Sanaullah said the former premier’s remarks had been made in jest because “he did not even run for elections.”
Commenting on rigging allegations by PPP leader Chaudhry Yasin, Sanaullah accused Yasin of attempting to manipulate the vote, claiming a video circulated a day earlier showed the incident. He said administrative intervention stopped the alleged attempt and prevented similar incidents in other constituencies.
Sanaullah also criticised the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), alleging that it had called for an election boycott and organised groups to discourage people from voting. He said the campaign sought to disrupt the political process despite the government’s acceptance of the committee’s 28 demands.
He reiterated that the government remained willing to discuss any additional demands put forward by the committee, provided they were pursued through dialogue rather than what he described as militancy.
Elections held amid rigging allegations
Polling was held on Monday across 13 constituencies in the three districts from 8am to 6pm, after the Election Commission extended voting by one hour from the scheduled closing time of 5pm.
The elections are being 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 would be held on August 2, followed by Poonch (Rawalakot) Division on August 10.
The PML-N first alleged pre-poll rigging in Kotli’s LA-10 constituency after party leaders claimed polling staff and election material had been found at a private residence instead of the designated polling station. The Election Commission later confirmed it had arrested and suspended two presiding officers over the incident, replacing them with new officials and initiating legal proceedings under election laws.
The PPP, meanwhile, repeatedly accused the federal government and the PML-N of using state machinery to influence the polls, alleging armed supporters attempted to disrupt voting at several polling stations and demanding immediate intervention by the Election Commission. The party also complained that polling at one station in Kotli remained suspended for nearly two hours, depriving voters of their right to cast ballots.
Tensions escalated further in LA-9 Kotli-II (Nikyal), when PPP worker, Mukhtar Younus, was killed during polling. The PPP alleged he was shot during incidents involving armed supporters of a PML-N candidate, while PML-N leaders disputed the party’s account of the incident. Local authorities confirmed one person had died and two others, including the victim’s father, were injured.
As the accusations intensified, senior leaders from both parties held competing press conferences. The PPP accused the federal government of interfering in the elections through development announcements and misuse of official resources, while the PML-N alleged the PPP was itself attempting to manipulate the vote, claiming ballot papers had been recovered from the residence of a rival candidate.
Throughout the day, the Election Commission maintained that strict action would be taken against any violations of the electoral code of conduct, saying irregularities and negligence would not be tolerated. Despite the controversies, polling concluded after the one-hour extension before vote counting began.Latest News, Breaking News & Top News Stories | The Express TribuneWeb DeskRead More