MUZAFFARABAD – The third of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir general elections delivered a stunning blow to a political heavyweight on Wednesday, as unofficial results from Bagh district Muslim Conference chief Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan losing his native seat by a massive margin.
Voting took place across constituencies—LA-14, LA-15, LA-16, and LA-17—with over 460,000 registered voters eligible cast ballots. A total of 82 candidates were in the fray. Polling began at 8am and concluded at 5pm interruption, after which counting commenced at the respective polling stations.
LA-14 Bagh 1: The Ups of the Election
The most dramatic result emerged from constituency LA-14 Bagh 1, where unofficial results from 214 polling stations confirmed a landslide victory for Sardar Sajid Iqbal of the Jammu & Kashmir Awami Dast-o-Bazu. He secured 40,702 votes, more than doubling the tally of the veteran politician Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, who managed 19,542 votes. The defeat in his hometown seat marks a significant political setback for the Muslim Conference leader.
In other constituencies, a tight contest is between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
Forstrong>LA-16 Bagh 3, unofficial results from 84 of the 186 polling stations show PML-N’s Sardar Mir Akbar Khan leading with 9,243 votes. PPP’s Sardar Qamar Zaman Khan is trailing in second place 7,144 votes.
In LA-15 Bagh 2, early returns from out of 213 polling stations indicate PPP’s Zia Qamar is ahead with 5,200 votes, while PML-N’s Mushtaq Ahmed Minhas has garnered 2,244 votes.
The race in LA-17 Bag 4 is still in its very early stages, with results from only 2 of the 199 polling stations reported.L-N’s Chaudhry Mohsin Aziz holds a narrow lead with 443 votes, followed by PPP’s Raja Faisal Mumaz Rathore with 344 votes.
Revised Schedule and Security Concerns
The third phase of election was originally planned for 11 seats across the Poonch Division. However, the AJK Election Commission revised the schedule, postpon polling in all constituencies of Poonch and Sudhanoti districts due to the prevailing law and order situation. A new date for those will be announced following a security review.
The first and second phases of the general elections, held on July 27 and 2, saw the PML-N emerge as the dominant party. According to confirmed results, the party has already secured a simple majority and poised to form the next government. PM’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah has projected that the PML-N will a two-thirds majority in the legislative assembly.
These earlier phases were marred by allegations of rigging and violence from PPP, with Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari describing the polls as neither free nor fair. The PML-N has categor rejected the accusations, challenging the PPP to present concrete evidence before the Election Commission.
