Polling resumes at 23 stations in AJK’s Bagh

BAGH: Voting is underway at 23 polling stations in two constituencies of Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s Bagh district as authorities conduct re-polling following the suspension of results from the earlier phase.

Polling began at 8am and is scheduled to continue until 5pm. Security arrangements have been strengthened around the polling stations to ensure voters can cast their ballots without fear or disruption.

The re-polling covers parts of LA-15 Bagh Central and LA-16 Eastern Bagh. Voting had earlier failed to take place at nine polling stations in LA-15 and 14 stations in LA-16.

The AJK Election Commission subsequently withheld the results of both constituencies and ordered voting at the affected stations.

In LA-15, Pakistan Peoples Party candidate Sardar Ziaul Qamar had secured 16,637 votes in the polling that took place earlier. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz candidate Mushtaq Ahmed Minhas was second with 15,015 votes, while Jamaat-i-Islami candidate retired Brigadier Dr Muhammad Khan received 12,259 votes.

In LA-16, PML-N’s Sardar Mir Akbar was leading on the basis of votes already counted. He had obtained 19,515 votes and held a lead of 3,225 votes over PPP candidate Sardar Qamaruz Zaman.

The contest in both constituencies has remained tense. Candidates have levelled allegations of large-scale rigging against their political opponents.

AJK Chief Election Commissioner retired Justice Ghulam Mustafa Mughal said adequate security had been deployed at the polling stations. He said sufficient police and other law-enforcement personnel were available to provide voters with a secure environment.

The re-polling is part of the third phase of the AJK elections, which has been conducted amid concerns over law and order in parts of the region.

The third phase was initially scheduled across Poonch Division, covering 11 constituencies in Bagh, Haveli, Poonch and Sudhnoti districts. However, the Election Commission limited polling to Bagh and Haveli because of security concerns.

Polling was held earlier in both districts, but the commission withheld the results of two Bagh constituencies after voting could not be conducted at the 23 affected stations.

The commission had already announced the result of LA-14 Bagh-I, commonly known as Dhirkot. Jammu Kashmir Awami Dast-o-Bazu Party candidate Sajid Iqbal Abbasi won the seat by securing 40,522 votes.

Another closely watched contest was LA-17 Haveli, where AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore was a candidate. The constituency became embroiled in controversy after the returning officer declared Rathore the winner.

PML-N candidate Engineer Mohsin Aziz challenged the result and claimed that an assurance had been given that the result would not be announced before his complaint was considered. The AJK chief election commissioner heard arguments from both sides and later reserved his decision.