PML-N Claims Majority in AJK Elections Amid Deadly Protests

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has claimed a simple majority to form the government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) after winning an estimated 23 to 26 of 45 total seats. Following the second phase of elections on August 2, provisional results showed PML-N winning 13 of 20 contested seats, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) secured five. The PPP rejected the mandate as fake, with leader Raja Pervez Ashraf asserting that the elections were neither free nor fair.

Concurrent with the polling, the region experienced severe violent unrest. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) PoJK boycotted the elections, labeling them a mockery and reporting that Rangers opened fire on demonstrators in Rawalakot. The Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), demanding affordable electricity and flour, reported that security forces killed over 50 people during a four-day crackdown. In response, the government banned the JAAC, labeling the group as foreign-funded terrorists.

PML-N officials dismissed rigging allegations as political mudslinging and accused the PPP of collaborating with the banned JAAC to incite unrest. While the PPP condemned the killing of party worker Mushtaq Shah, PML-N's Rana Sanaullah attributed other reported deaths to natural causes or verbal disputes. The PML-N parliamentary party is scheduled to meet on August 10 to discuss government formation following the final phase of elections.