Nawaz Sharif finalises PML-N picks for reserved AJK Assembly seats

According to PML-N spokesperson Maryam Aurangzeb, Nawaz Sharif issued party tickets after considering recommendations from the party’s

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif has approved the party’s nominations for reserved seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.

According to PML-N spokesperson Maryam Aurangzeb, Nawaz Sharif issued party tickets after considering recommendations from the party’s parliamentary board. A formal notification confirming the nominations has also been issued.

Maryam Zamani, Maryam Idrees, Sehrish Qamar and Riffat Abid have been nominated for the women’s reserved seats.

For other reserved categories, the party has selected Abdul Rehman for the Overseas Pakistanis seat, Iftikhar Gilani for the Technocrat seat and Pir Mazhar Saeed for the Ulema Mashaikh seat.

The nominations mark the completion of PML-N’s selection process for the reserved seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly.

Moreover, The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has announced candidates for seven of the eight reserved seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.

The reserved-seat elections are scheduled to take place on August 24. The seats include five reserved for women and one each for religious scholars, overseas Kashmiris, and technocrats and other professionals.

The PML-N has nominated Barrister Syed Iftikhar Ali Gillani for the technocrats and professionals’ seat. 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.

Gillani is a former member of the AJK Assembly. He was elected in 2011 and 2016 and later served as education minister for five years. He contested the recent general election from Muzaffarabad city but lost to PPP candidate Mukhtar Ahmed Abbasi.

Arain is a businessman based in Birmingham and serves as president of the PML-N’s UK chapter. He has roots in Kotli and was also part of the party committee involved in preparing for the recent elections.

Shah belongs to the upper Neelum Valley and previously served in the AJK Assembly on a reserved seat. He is associated with the All Jammu Kashmir Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam.

For the women’s reserved seats, the PML-N has awarded tickets to Sehrish Qamar, Maryam Zaman, Maryam Idrees and Riffat Abid.

Qamar belongs to Mang in Sudhnoti and heads the PML-N Women’s Wing. She had previously served in the AJK Assembly on a reserved seat during the 2016-21 term.

Maryam Zaman, also known as Maryam Kashmiri, is from Muzaffarabad and leads the party’s Women’s Wing there. Maryam Idrees belongs to Chakswari in Mirpur, while Riffat Abid is from Dadyal.

With 26 members in the assembly, including an allied MLA, the PML-N is in a strong position to secure the three reserved seats for technocrats, overseas Kashmiris and religious scholars.

Party sources said the PML-N could also secure all four women’s seats but had decided to seriously contest only three. This would leave two women’s seats for the PPP.

The PPP has not yet formally announced its candidates. Reports circulating on social media had linked former minister Farzana Yaqoob and Zobia Khurshid Raja to PPP tickets, but PPP regional president Chaudhry Yasin rejected the reports.

Yasin said the party had not awarded tickets so far. He said a final decision would be taken at a meeting chaired by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

The AJK Election Commission has fixed polling for the reserved seats on August 24. Voting will take place in the AJK Assembly between 10am and 1pm.

The assembly has 53 members under the AJK Constitution. Of these, 45 are directly elected, while eight are chosen by the directly elected members through reserved seats.

Elections could not be held in seven constituencies because of the prevailing law and order situation. These include five constituencies in Poonch and two in Sudhnoti.