ISLAMABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) chief election commissioner announced on Tuesday that polls in the region will be held in three phases from July 27 across different divisions, vowing that “peaceful” elections will be held amid widespread protests by a prominent civil rights alliance group in the area.
The development takes place amid weeks of unrest in the internationally disputed region governed by Pakistan. The Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a civil rights movement banned by the authorities last month under anti-terrorism laws, has led protests in recent weeks that have caused clashes with law enforcers and led to around 30 dead. The protests, triggered in part by a dispute over refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly, have disrupted campaigning, shuttered businesses and raised questions about whether polling could proceed on schedule.
AJK Chief Election Commissioner Justice (r) Ghulam Mustafa Mughal told Arab News in an interview last week that polls would be held on schedule on July 27. Mughal had said postponing the vote was not an option as holding elections on time was a constitutional requirement.
In a press conference on Tuesday, however, Mughal said elections in the Mirpur Division will be held as originally scheduled on July 27 while polling in the Muzaffarabad Division will take place on August 2. Polling for 12 seats reserved for refugees from Indian-administered Kashmir that are residing in Pakistan will also be held on August 2, while polling in Poonch Division will be held on August 10.
“The chief election commissioner said that every effort would be made to ensure that the elections are conducted in a free, fair, transparent, and peaceful manner,” the Azad Kashmir information ministry said.
Mughal said the election schedule was revised after consultations were held with all political parties in the region.
“The chief election commissioner also announced that international observers and journalists will be granted full access to cover the elections,” the ministry said.
Former AJK president and prime minister Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob Khan wrote a letter to Mughal on Monday, calling for polls to be postponed in the region on account of the prevailing law and order situation.
The AJK Legislative Assembly elections will be held in 45 constituencies, including 33 territorial seats and 12 reserved for Kashmiri refugees living in Pakistan’s Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
The JAAC alleges that the 12 reserved seats are used to influence the formation of government in AJK. The AJK government denies this.
Life has largely returned to normal in the capital city of Muzaffarabad after weeks of shutter-down strikes that disrupted businesses and transport across the region.
However, police and other law enforcement personnel continue to be heavily deployed, with security checkpoints visible across the city and at key entry points to the region where vehicles are frequently stopped and people questioned about their movements. Internet services, including mobile data and broadband facilities, also remain suspended.
