MUZAFFARABAD — The second phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections concluded on Sunday across eight constituencies of Muzaffarabad division and 12 refugee constituencies nationwide, marked by political friction, allegations of rigging, and isolated scuffles. Polling in LA-27 (Muzaffarabad-I) was postponed due to heavy rain, while voting proceeded elsewhere under strict security. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and other party leaders strongly criticized the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), alleging vote tampering, the exclusion of polling agents, and physical attacks on party members, including regional president Chaudhry Latif Akbar. The PPP also reported the death of a party worker in LA-31, though the PML-N countered that the individual died of heart failure during a scuffle rather than from bullet injuries.
In response, senior PML-N leaders, including Marriyum Aurangzeb and Rana Sanaullah, rejected the allegations as baseless “crying” and defended the integrity of the electoral process. They maintained that the polls were conducted peacefully and transparently, noting that the PPP was merely preempting defeat. As the Election Commission of AJK reviews multiple complaints from various constituencies, the political tension between the ruling coalition partners continues to escalate ahead of the final phase of elections scheduled for August 10 in Poonch division.
