MUZAFFARABAD: The ruling PML-N party clinched victory in a by-election held on Sunday in the Poonch district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The seat fell vacant after the death of Khan Bahadar Khan, senior adviser to the AJK prime minister on Aug 27.

Though there were nine candidates in the fray, the real contest was between Sardar Amir Altaf of the PML-N and Sardar Ghulam Sadiq of the PPP.

According to unofficial results announced late on Sunday night, Mr Altaf, who is the grandson of the late lawmaker, secured 20,874 votes against 14,731 clinched by Mr Sadiq. Kashan Masood of the Muslim Conference bagged 3,283 votes while PTI candidate Sardar Sawar Khan secured 3,231 votes.

Though Mr Khan is a senior political activist, he was considered to be a novice in the constituency because he had been living in the United States for a long time.

There were a total of 75,202 registered voters in the constituency.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2018