Rana Sanaullah Claims PML-N Secures Simple Majority to Form AJK Government

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Monday said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has secured a simple majority to form the government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) after winning 23 out of 45 seats.

Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad with Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Amir Muqam, Sanaullah said the PML-N won 13 seats in the second phase of the AJK elections, including four of the seven seats in Muzaffarabad. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) won three seats.

He said the PML-N also won 10 of the 12 refugee seats, while the PPP secured two.

Sanaullah said polling in LA-27 was postponed due to bad weather. Voting will take place on Tuesday at 54 polling stations in LA-27 and LA-28.

He added that the PML-N parliamentary party will meet after the third phase of elections on August 10 to discuss the formation of the government.

The second phase of the AJK elections was held in the Muzaffarabad division on Sunday. According to unofficial and provisional results, the PML-N won 13 of the 18 constituencies announced so far.

The PPP, led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, is in second place with five seats in the second phase.

The elections were also marked by allegations of irregularities and incidents of violence. The PPP claimed that its leaders were attacked and that at least one party worker was killed.

PPP leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf rejected the election process on Sunday, calling the mandate “fake”. He said the elections were not free, fair or impartial and would not be accepted.

Sanaullah, however, accused the PPP of working with the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) to disrupt the AJK elections. He said the PPP started making rigging allegations after polling began because of its poor performance in the first phase.

He said the PPP first raised allegations about 13 constituencies, which later dropped to four and then two after being asked to provide evidence.

“We even offered to conduct a forensic audit of the polling stations where rigging was alleged,” he said, adding that the polling process remained free, fair and transparent.

Sanaullah also accused the PPP of trying to influence the constituency of PPP candidate and AJK Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar, including attempts to deploy Sindh police there.