ISLAMABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Election Commission announced on Friday that it was postponing elections scheduled for Aug. 10 in the Sudhanoti and Poonch districts over security concerns, as protests and clashes mar the voting process in the region.
Elections for the 53-member Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly are being held in three phases over security concerns and heavy monsoon rains. The campaign has been marred by weeks of protests led by the banned civil rights movement, the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC). The JAAC opposes the constitutional allocation of 12 assembly seats reserved for refugees from Indian-administered Kashmir living elsewhere in Pakistan.
Protests led by the JAAC have triggered violent clashes with security forces in the Pakistan-administered region since weeks.
According to the Jammu Kashmir Human Rights Observatory (JKHRO), an independent rights organization, 89 civilian deaths linked to the unrest between June 5 and Aug. 5 have taken place. The Azad Kashmir government rejects allegations that security forces fired on protesters or were responsible for their deaths. It has also accused JAAC protesters of attacking law enforcers and killing two security officials in the recent protests.
Polling in Azad Kashmir has been held in phases. Elections in the Mirpur Division were held on Jul. 27, while in the Muzaffarabad Division it was held on Aug. 2. Voting for the 12 seats reserved for refugees from Indian-administered Kashmir were also held on Aug. 2, while the election commission had announced that polling in Poonch Division would be held on Aug. 10.
In a press release, the election commission said it received a report from the Azad Jammu and Kashmir secretary of interior about concerns over the law-and-order situation in certain areas of District Poonch and District Sudhanoti. It also said certain political personalities and candidates from the districts filed applications with the election commission, requesting to postpone polls in the two districts.
“In view of the said situation, the election commission has decided that on Aug. 10, 2026, polling will be held as per schedule in three constituencies of District Bagh and one constituency of District Haveli,” the press release said.
“However, polling will not be held on Aug. 10, 2026, in the electoral constituencies of District Poonch and District Palandri.”
Palandri is a tehsil that serves as the administrative headquarters of the Sudhanoti district and is commonly used to refer to the district.
The election commission said it would announce a new date and the revised polling schedule for elections in these districts after reviewing the conditions and considering all relevant matters.
“The election commission clarifies that the said decision has been made solely in the context of the current law-and-order situation, so that the conduct of elections can be ensured in a free, fair, transparent, and peaceful environment,” it added.
The protests and dispute between the JAAC and the Azad Kashmir government revolves around the 12 assembly seats reserved for people displaced from Indian-administered Kashmir after the partition of British India in 1947. The JAAC argues that the arrangement gives disproportionate political influence to people living outside Pakistan-administered Kashmir and has demanded the seats be abolished.
The regional government says the seats are constitutionally protected and can only be removed through a constitutional amendment and that it has accepted most of JAAC’s broader demands.
As per the results issued by the election commission earlier this week, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz candidates have now won 24 of the 34 seats decided in the first two phases of voting, putting the party on course to form the next regional government after the final phase of polling in the region concludes.
