won a majority of seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections amid incidents of violence claiming three lives.
Those who were declared successful included former AJK prime ministers Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry, Farooq Haider, Sardar Yaqoob and Sardar Attique.
Senior politicians like Chaudhry Abdul Majeed, Sardar Qamaruz Zaman, Siyab Khalid, Chaudhry Ismail and Tariq Farooq also won their seats.
According to the unofficial results announced late on Sunday, elections were postponed in three constituencies after the death of three people in the violence.
Elections were held on 37 seats of the AJK Legislative Assembly and according to the last unconfirmed reports, Pakistan People’s Party was ahead of other contestants with 19 seats, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) bagged seven, Muslim Conference (MC) four while two independent candidates were also declared successful.
The unofficial results revealed that in LA-1, Mirpur 1, PPP candidate Afsar Shahid succeeded with 10,152 votes. Masood Khalid, an independent candidate, was the runner up.
PPP’s Arshad Hussain succeeded from LA-4, Mirpur 4, another PPP candidate Chaudhry Pervaiz Ashraf secured his seat for Legislative Assembly from LA-5, Bhimber 1. From LA-6, Bhimber 2, independent candidate Ali Khan Swati was declared successful. In LA-7, Bhimber 3, PML-N candidate Chaudhry Tariq Farooq was the successful candidate, LA-8, Kotli 1 went to Muslim Conference candidate Malik Muhammad Nawaz. Voters elected PML-N candidate Rao Naseer LA-10 Kotli 3 and Chaudhry Yasin of the PPP from LA-11.
PPP’s Matloob Inqalabi, Muslim Conference’s Sardar Attique, and PPP’s Qamar Zaman succeeded in their respective constituencies.
The polling for the AJK elections in Lahore had been suspended after a scuffle between supporters of the PPP and the PML-N candidates. The PPP claimed that PPP workers Afzal Butt, Khalid Usman and PPP Punjab General Secretary Samiullah Khan were injured by the PML-N attackers. The polling started at 8am but the atmosphere soon became charged and Presiding Officer Malik Tahir Iqbal decided to suspend the polling.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani talked to AJK Prime Minister Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan over telephone and discussed the overall political situation in AJK.
Both the leaders agreed to work for the development, progress and prosperity of the people of AJK.
The Gujranwala police have registered cases against 100 PML-N and PPP workers after a clash during polling at LA-31 Jammu-II on Sunday.
The marginal victory of PPP in Azad Jammu and Kashmir polls show the popularity and love of people for a secular party like PPP, this landmark win of PPP has cleared the dust in proving PPP not only a party of four provinces of Pakistan but also AJK. AJK’s liberal and secular people had no choice except to vote for PPP. There is no national party, except PPP period. Even in the new province of G&B, the PPP swept the polls. Unless the right wing makes a grand alliance against the PPP, they have no chance in any fair elections except in central Punjab. That is the main reason Nawaz Sharif makes electoral alliances with all the right wing parties. The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), whose direct foray into AJK electoral politics had made headlines around the country, was able to win only 9 seats, four of which were those representing the Kashmiri Diaspora in Punjab, where the party is in office in the provincial government. Nawaz Sharif spent a lot of resources of Punjab to win AJK elections and was only able to win 4 seats from Kashmir territory two of these won by the sitting prime minister himself. He should be ashamed of his adamant stand wrongly called as ‘principled attack’.
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