PML-N Strengthens Position in AJK Assembly With Five Reserved Seats
MUZAFFARABAD: The PML-N secured five of the seven reserved seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Monday, while the PPP won two, further strengthening the PML-N’s position in the incoming assembly.
The seven reserved seats include five seats for women and one each for Ulema and Mashaikh, overseas state subjects, and technocrats and professionals.
Under Article 22(1) of the AJK Constitution, the Legislative Assembly consists of 53 members. Of these, 45 are directly elected through adult franchise, while eight are selected by the directly elected members.
PML-N Takes Majority of Reserved Seats
PML-N’s Chaudhry Abdul Rehman Arain was declared elected unopposed to the seat reserved for AJK state subjects residing abroad after being the only candidate to submit nomination papers.
In the women’s reserved seats, PML-N candidates Sehrish Qamar, Maryam Idrees and Maryam Zaman secured three seats, while PPP’s Farzana Yaqoob won another.
The final women’s seat was contested by PML-N’s Riffat Abid and PPP’s Zobia Khurshid Raja after both received five votes. Raja ultimately secured the seat through a draw of lots.
For the seat reserved for Ulema and Mashaikh, PML-N’s Mohammad Mazhar Saeed defeated PPP’s Hafiz Tariq Mahmood by securing 26 votes against 12.
PML-N also won the technocrats and professionals seat, with Barrister Syed Iftikhar Gillani receiving 26 votes compared with PPP candidate Sahibzada Zulfiqar Ali’s 12.
PML-N Leads Directly Elected Seats
The latest results further consolidate the PML-N’s position in the AJK Assembly.
Of the 38 directly elected seats decided so far, the PML-N has won 25, while the PPP has secured 12. An elected member of the Awami Dast-o-Bazu Party has also joined the PML-N.
Seven of the 45 directly elected seats remain undecided after polling was postponed because of law-and-order concerns in parts of Poonch and Sudhnoti districts.
The 38 elected members participated in Monday’s voting for the reserved seats.
PPP Raises Concerns Over Election Process
The PPP has continued to raise allegations of widespread irregularities in the AJK elections and has questioned the transparency of the electoral process.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said that a genuine political alliance with the PML-N would not be possible unless the party’s concerns over the AJK elections were addressed.
The PPP has also accused the federal government’s political and administrative machinery of remaining active in AJK during the election process.
The party has said it raised its objections before the Election Commission, Parliament and other constitutional forums.
Assembly Set to Begin
The inaugural session of the incoming AJK Legislative Assembly was summoned shortly after the reserved-seat results were announced.
The newly elected members are expected to take their oaths from outgoing Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar, who lost his own constituency in the elections.
The final composition of the assembly will become clearer once elections are held in the remaining constituencies.
