The PML-N reserved seats AJK victory has strengthened the party’s position in the 53-member Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. The party won six of eight reserved seats on Monday, while the PPP secured two.
PML-N previously held 25 seats in the assembly. With six reserved seats and support from the Awam Dast-e-Bazu, its strength has reached 32, giving the party enough numbers to form the next government in Azad Kashmir.
The reserved-seat polling covered five seats for women and one each for technocrats and professionals and ulema and religious scholars. PML-N candidate Barrister Iftikhar Gilani won the technocrat seat with 26 votes against PPP’s Zulfiqar Ali, who received 12 votes.
On the seat for ulema and religious scholars, PML-N’s Muhammad Mazhar Saeed also secured 26 votes. He defeated PPP candidate Hafiz Tariq, who received 12 votes. The Election Commission subsequently completed the process by notifying the successful candidates.
PML-N won three women’s seats through Maryam Zaman, Maryam Idrees and Seharish Qamar. PPP candidates Farzana Yaqoob and Zobia Khurshid Raja secured the other two. The overseas Kashmiris’ reserved seat had already gone to PML-N’s Abdul Rehman Arain unopposed.
Following the results, PML-N has 32 members while PPP has 14 in the assembly. The legislature will elect its speaker and deputy speaker on Tuesday, while the election for the AJK prime minister is scheduled for August 27.
The latest PML-N reserved seats AJK results mark a major step toward government formation. The elections were conducted in three phases, while voting in seven Poonch and Sudhnoti constituencies was postponed because of security concerns. The delayed polls remain linked to unrest and fragile law and order conditions in parts of the region.
