Violence and rigging allegations in first phase of AJK elections

A worker for the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was killed and multiple scuffles broke out as the first phase of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections concluded in Mirpur division on Monday, with both major parties trading accusations of violence and pre-poll rigging .

Polling took place across 13 constituencies in the three districts of Bhimber, Mirpur, and Kotli, beginning at 8am and concluding at 6pm after a one-hour extension . While minor skirmishes between PPP and PML-N workers were reported earlier in the day, the electoral process took a violent turn in the afternoon in LA-9 Kotli-II (Nakyal) .

In a statement on X, the PPP claimed that party worker Mukhtar Younus “died during incidents of display of arms and public harassment by PML-N candidate Sardar Umail Naeem” . Mirpur Commissioner Raja Tahir Mumtaz confirmed that a man was killed and two others, including the deceased’s father, were injured . The PML-N, however, claimed that Younus had been involved in its election campaign .

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari expressed grief over the death, stating that Younus had been “martyred in Mirpur’s Nakyal” in “firing by” the PML-N candidate . “Where are the relevant authorities? What is the Election Commission doing?” he demanded . He noted that a video had emerged two days ago of Naeem and his companions “firing in public,” and argued that the loss of life could have been prevented if authorities had acted .

Younus had been running an election campaign with party candidate Javed Budhanvi, the current food minister . Bilawal had alleged last week that a criminal case registered against Budhanvi was politically motivated . That case was registered after a PML-N activist campaigning for Naeem was killed and two others were injured in a firing incident in Kotli on July 10 .

Despite the violence, AJK Inspector General of Police retired Captain Liaqat Ali Malik said the polling process was “largely peaceful,” describing the scuffles as “part of political activity” and noting that “temperatures are usually high” at polling stations . He affirmed that legal action would be taken against anyone attempting to disrupt polling, regardless of political affiliation .

The PPP and PML-N, allies at the Centre, have been engaged in a bitter war of words in the lead-up to the polls, with observers viewing the AJK race as a direct contest between Bilawal and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif . The PML-N had previously gifted 10 e-buses to Muzaffarabad and Mirpur, prompting the PPP to decry poll code violations .