The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has announced candidates for seven of the eight reserved Azad Jammu and Kashmir Assembly seats ahead of polling on August 24. The party has nominated candidates for three special-category seats and four women’s seats.
The reserved seats include five positions for women and one each for religious scholars or Mashaikh, overseas Kashmiris, and technocrats and other professionals. The PML-N is expected to have a strong position in the election because of its strength among the directly elected members.
For the technocrats and professionals’ seat, the PML-N has awarded its ticket to Barrister Syed Iftikhar Ali Gillani. Chaudhry Abdul Rehman Arain has been nominated for the overseas Kashmiris’ seat, while Pir Mazhar Saeed Shah will contest the seat reserved for religious scholars.
پاکستان مسلم لیگ (ن) کے صدر جناب محمد نواز شریف نے آزاد جموں و کشمیر قانون ساز اسمبلی میں مخصوص نشستوں کے لیے نامزدگی کی منظوری دے دی ہے اور پارٹی کے پارلیمانی بورڈ کی سفارشات کی روشنی میں اپنے دستخط سے پارٹی ٹکٹ جاری کر دئیے ہیں۔ pic.twitter.com/NdDUxrEDau
— Marriyum Aurangzeb (@Marriyum_A) August 19, 2026
The PML-N reserved AJK seats candidates also include four nominees for women’s seats: Sehrish Qamar, Maryam Zaman, Maryam Idrees and Riffat Abid. Qamar previously served in the AJK Assembly on a reserved women’s seat during the 2016-21 term.
According to party sources, the PML-N could potentially win all four women’s seats but has decided to seriously contest only three. As a result, two women’s seats are expected to go to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which has not yet officially announced its candidates for those positions.
The PML-N currently holds 25 of the 38 directly elected seats declared so far, while the PPP has 12. An Awami Dast-o-Bazu Party MLA-elect has also joined the PML-N, increasing its alliance strength to 26 members and giving the party a strong advantage in the reserved-seat contest.
The AJK Election Commission has scheduled voting for the reserved seats on August 24 from 10am to 1pm. The assembly has 53 members, including 45 directly elected members and eight reserved-seat members, but elections in seven territorial constituencies were delayed because of the law and order situation.
