AJK election polling ends, counting underway
Polling for the second phase of the 2026 general elections to the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly concluded on Sunday, with vote counting now underway across the contested constituencies. The election was held for eight constituencies in the Muzaffarabad Division and 12 seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees residing in different cities of Pakistan.
Polling in LA-27 Muzaffarabad was postponed due to bad weather and landslides, while clashes in LA-31 left a Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) worker dead. In Khawra, Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Salahuddin Junejo and two party workers were injured in a firing incident.
Voting began at 8:00 a.m. and was originally scheduled to end at 5:00 p.m. However, the AJK Election Commission extended polling by one hour in the Muzaffarabad Division due to a high voter turnout, allowing voters to cast their ballots until 6:00 p.m.
More than 1.2 million registered voters were eligible to vote in the second phase of the elections. A total of 208 candidates contested nine constituencies in the Muzaffarabad Division, which has 809,621 registered voters, while 143 candidates competed for the 12 refugee seats. Authorities established 1,483 polling stations across the Muzaffarabad region, with heavy security deployed at highly sensitive locations.
Although elections were scheduled in nine constituencies of Muzaffarabad Division, polling was held in only eight. The Election Commission postponed voting in LA-27 Muzaffarabad-II (Lachhrat) after severe weather and landslides disrupted access to several polling stations. Fresh polling in the constituency has been scheduled for August 4.
Voting in some constituencies began late, while the PPP accused the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of electoral irregularities. The party’s election cell submitted formal complaints to the Chief Election Commissioner.
Clashes and Violence
A PPP worker, identified as Mushtaq Shah, was killed during clashes in LA-31. In Khawra, PPP MNA Salahuddin Junejo, who represents NA-210 Sanghar-II, suffered a gunshot wound to his arm during a firing incident. Two party workers were also injured and all three were shifted to hospital for treatment.
In LA-29 (Muzaffarabad-III), polling was temporarily suspended after clashes erupted between supporters of the PML-N and the PPP.
In LA-43 (Rawalpindi Valley-IV), PPP candidate Javed Butt reportedly entered the Millat Colony polling station accompanied by an armed guard. According to reports, the guard was not stopped by police personnel.
Security and Key Contests
Constituencies LA-28, LA-29, and LA-31 were declared highly sensitive due to security concerns. Closely watched contests included prominent political figures such as Shah Ghulam Qadir of the PML-N, Sardar Tanveer Ilyas of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), former Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider, and AJK Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar.
In the Rawalpindi Division, 35 candidates contested three refugee seats, representing 27,907 registered voters. Voting also took place in Karachi for two refugee constituencies representing Kashmir and Jammu.
For security, around 4,000 police personnel were deployed. Out of 175 polling stations, 31 were declared sensitive. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 41 polling stations were established across 21 districts for LA-45 Kashmir Valley-VI, where 7,655 registered voters were eligible to cast their ballots.
