PTI announces comprehensive boycott of AJK Legislative Assembly elections

The party demands immediate dialogue with the proscribed JAAC and an absolute review of the electoral schedule amidst deep regional unrest and legal bottlenecks.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced a total boycott of the upcoming Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections, stating that it will not participate in the electoral exercise under prevailing political conditions. Following a high-level meeting of its core committee, the party framed the decision as a principled expression of solidarity with the local population rather than a calculated political manoeuvring.

The opposition party raised grave concerns over an escalating humanitarian and political crisis across the region, pointing to ongoing sit-ins in Rawalakot and nearby districts. The committee strongly condemned the heavy-handed use of state force against local demonstrators, which has already resulted in casualties, alongside severe disruptions to the regional supply of food and essential commodities.

Mass arrests of political workers, arbitrary restrictions on freedom of expression, and heavy curbs on the media have completely stripped the upcoming electoral process of its transparency and credibility.

– PTI Core Committee Statement

Before returning to the polls, PTI has demanded that the state authorities immediately initiate a peaceful dialogue with the now-banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) to address public grievances fairly. The party has suspended its parliamentary board’s recommendations and deferred the issuance of all election tickets indefinitely. The core committee maintains that a complete review of the current election schedule by the relevant authorities is mandatory, alongside the immediate restoration of a free, fair, and peaceful environment that allows all political factions to contest on equal ground without state high-handedness.

Compounding the boycott is a severe legal gridlock regarding PTI’s official registration within the region. The AJK Supreme Court has deferred hearing an application filed by the regional election commission, which sought ex parte ad interim relief against a prior High Court order that directed the provisional registration of PTI. A full bench, comprising Chief Justice Raja Saeed Akram, Justice Raza Ali Khan, and Justice Khalid Yousaf Chaudhary, ruled that the commission’s interim application will only be taken up alongside its main petition for leave to appeal (PLA) after initial administrative scrutiny is complete. With the apex court scheduled to enter its annual summer recess on Monday, continuing until October 7, the legal dispute is highly unlikely to reach a resolution before the general elections scheduled for July 27, leaving PTI’s institutional status entirely unresolved.