Secures 25 seats; PPP bags 10, PML-N 6, MC 1 and JKPP 1; 2 PTI workers killed, 5 policemen beaten up in violence-marred elections
Sarwar Awan Islamabad
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf unofficially emerged as the largest single party in the elections held on Sunday for the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly after counting of votes at polling stations across Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan on Sunday.
With PTI taking the 25 Assembly seats, Pakistan Muslim League-N got six, PPP secured ten seats and Muslim Conference bagged one seat and a candidate of JKPP was elected when the last result came in on Sunday night.
The former prime minister and head of the Muslim Conference Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan emerged victorious with 29561 votes. The PML-N candidate remained second in the contest and bagged 13429 votes. Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry of PTI secured 18,447 votes.
Following are the unofficial results:
From LA-1 Mirpur I PTI candidate Azhar Sadiq won with 14233 votes; LA-3 Mirpur III according to unofficial results of all polling stations PTI candidate Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry secured victory by getting 18447 votes; LA-4 Mirpur IV unofficial results of all polling stations show PTI’s Chaudhry Arshad Hussain has emerged victorious with 22,752 votes; LA-5 Bhimber-1, PML-N candidate Col (R) Waqar Ahmad Noor won by gtting 21799 votes; LA-14, Bagh-I unofficial results of all polling stations say Sardar Ateeq Ahmed Khan emerged victorious with 29561 votes.
In LA-15 Bagh II, PTI candidate Sardar Tanvir Ilyas emeged victorius with 19825 votes; LA-17 Bagh unofficial results of all polling stations PPP’s Mumtaz Rathore won by getting 30085 votes;
LA-20 Poonch III, unofficial results of all polling stations PPP candidate Sardar Mohammad Yaqoob won by securing 11,000 votes
PTI candidate Faheem Akhtar secured victory by 28103 votes in LA 24 – Poonch and Sudhnuti VII; LA-26 Neelum Valley-2 unofficial results of all polling stations show PPP candidate Mian Abdul Waheed victor with 18870 votes;
LA-29 Muzaffarabad III, according to unofficial results of all polling stationsnPTI candidate Raja Farooq Ahmed got 10,004 votes and won the set.
In LA-30 Muzaffarabad IV, according to unofficial results of all polling stations PTI candidate Muhammad Rasheed was elected with 18068 votes; LA-34 Jammu I unofficial results of all polling stations
declared PTI candidate Riyaz Ahmed with 4320 votes victor; LA-35 Jammu II PTI candidate Maqbool Ahmed succeded by getting 18883 votes; PTI candidate Hamid Raza from LA-36 Jammu III received 22096 votes and was declared winner unofficially; LA-38 Jammu V unofficial results of all polling stations declared PTI candidate Muhammad Akbar Chaudhry with 1219 votes; In LA-39 Jammu VI PML-N candidate Raja Muhammad Siddique won with 6048 votes;
PPP’s Amir Abdul Ghaffar with 2165 votes won in LA-40 Kashmir Valley-I; LA-41 Kashmir Valley II winner is PTI’s Ghulam Mohi Uddin Deewan getting 2326 votes; LA-42 Kashmir Valley-III
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf candidate Asim Sharif won by 1254 votes;
In LA-43 Kashmir Valley-IV according to unofficial results of all polling stations PTI candidate Javed Butt defeated PML-N’s Naseema Khatoon and emerged victorious with 774 votes.
Naseema Khatoon bagged 720 votes. In LA-44 Kashmir Valley-V PML-N’s Mohammad Raza Qadri won with 2007 votes; and in LA-45 Kashmir Valley VI PTI’s Abdul Majid Khan secured victory by getting 3138 votes.
The elections were held under the supervision of AJK Judiciary, Pakistan Army and Rangers with the coordination of the local civil law enforcement institutions.
Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain claimed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had emerged victorious from Tehseel Pind Dadan Khan and Khewra during the AJK elections.
“The turnout in the elections suggests that the common man has taken a keen interest in it and has expressed full confidence in the electoral process,” Fawad wrote on his official Twitter handle.
He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government in AJK will give strength to the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Earlier, during voting at least two Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf workers were killed in a clash with PPP activists at a polling station in the Kotli district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday.
The two PTI activists were shot dead by unidentified persons at a polling station in the jurisdiction of Naarr police station in Charhoi, Kotli, according to police. Ten others were injured during clashes between supporters of different political parties.
Muhammad Shabbir, an official at Naarr police station, identified the victims as 40-year-old Zaheer Ahmed and 50-year-old Ramzan.
He added that the clash erupted between PPP and PTI workers at about 9:15am at the Mithi Jand polling station.
In the ensuing gunfire, Ahmed was killed on the spot and Ramzan died on the way to the hospital.
In a separate incident, five police constables were injured after Jamaat-e-Islami activists attacked them with batons at the Dhal Chakhya polling station in AJK’s LA-32 constituency, Jhelum valley district SP Riaz Mughal said.
Voting in some polling stations of other constituencies was also temporarily suspended due to incidents of violence. Several people were reportedly injured in clashes and a number of political activists were detained by the police.
Media persons were initially not allowed to report from outside the polling stations but the issue was later resolved on the directions of the AJK Chief Election Commissioner Justice Abdul Rashid Sulehria.
Voting in some polling stations of other constituencies was also temporarily suspended due to incidents of violence. Several people were reportedly injured in clashes and a number of political activists were detained by the police.
The polling started peacefully on Sunday morning but after only a few hours reports started coming of clashes between supporters of rival political parties and complaints were filed with the AJK Election Commission regarding violation of code of conduct.
The vehicle of PPP candidate Chaudhry Yaseen was also attacked. The vehicle was riddled with bullets but Ch Yaseen narrowly escaped the attack.
There were also reports of clashes between PML-N and PTI workers in Mirpur, Azad Kashmir. The AJK police arrested PPP chief polling agent Zarrar Khan in AJK constituency LA-30.
PPP submitted a complaint in the Election Commission and said PTI workers also opened fire on the house of Zarrar Khan three days ago. The PPP has demanded the immediate release of its chief polling agent.
The Pakistan People’s Party in a statement issued said, “There has been continuous firing by PTI workers on polling station Nos. 91, 92, 93, 94, 95 and 1010. Firing has been opened on the car of the candidate and the vehicle has received bullets.”
In Gujranwala, a police team uprooted the PML-N election camp outside a polling station that was set up outside the Government Girls High School No 2. Police also uprooted a PPP camp in Rawalpindi.
There was an exchange of harsh words between the Gujranwala deputy commissioner and polling agents. There were also reports that unidentified people set on fire several vehicles which were part of PTI candidate Raja Haroon’s convoy in Bagh.
