• Preparations for July election discussed with major political parties
• Concerns raised over declining voter numbers in some areas since 2021

MUZAFFARABAD: The Election Commission of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Saturday pledged to ensure free, fair, and transparent general elections, with the schedule expected to be announced in May.

The assurance came from Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) retired Justice Ghulam Mustafa Mughal during a high-level consultative meeting held at Jammu Kashmir House to review preparations for the July 2026 elections.

The meeting was attended by heads and representatives of major political parties, and senior election officials, including com­mission member Syed Nazeerul Hassan Gillani and Secretary Raja Shakeel Khan.

Among the prominent participants were Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shah Ghulam Qadir, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) President Chaudhry Muhammad Yaseen, Muslim Conference President Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, Jamaat-i-Islami AJK emir Dr Muhammad Mushtaq Khan, and PTI President Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi.

The Election Commission clarified that Mr Niazi attended the meeting as an observer, as the former ruling party’s application for registration is yet to be decided.

At least 10 out of the 12 lawmakers representing the Pakistan-based refugees from India-held Jammu and Kashmir — Abdul Majid Khan, Javed Butt, Ahmed Raza Qadri, Raja Saddique, Asim Sharif Butt, Chaudhry Muhammad Ismail, Hamid Raza, Deevan Ghulam Mohiuddin, Chaudhry Akbar Ibrahim, and Chaudhry Riaz Gujjar — also took part in the deliberations.

Participants held detailed discussions on improving the transparency, organisation and credibility of the electoral process. Key proposals included preparing voter lists at the ward level instead of the mouza (revenue village) level, addressing the decline in voter numbers in some union councils since 2021, ensuring robust security arrangements, clearly defining the code of conduct, and correcting voter registration issues in refugee constituencies.

Suggestions were also made to extend the voter registration deadline, deploy paramilitary forces in refugee constituencies, adopt manual verification methods to reduce ambiguities, and improve voter lists of refugees residing in Pakistan.

“The Election Commission is taking all necessary steps to ensure free, fair and transparent elections to uphold the sanctity of the vote at all costs,” the CEC said, adding that the polls were intended to be held under the supervision of the Pakistan Army.

He said the commission was giving due consideration to proposals from political stakeholders to further strengthen the electoral process, while ensuring equal opportunities for all parties and strict enforcement of electoral laws.

Justice Mughal noted that, under the law, the commission was required to present a working plan at least 120 days before the elections. He said work on voter inclusion and exclusion was in progress, with district administrations actively engaged in the exercise.

Efforts were also underway to finalise voter lists and raise public awareness through social media, the Press Information Department, and religious scholars, he added.

Clarifying a related issue, the CEC said the Election Commission did not have the authority to revoke State Subject status of any person, noting that such matters were governed by a defined legal process and should be taken up with the relevant forums.

Referring to the presidential election, he said it would be conducted strictly in accordance with the Constitution and within the stipulated timeframe.

Earlier, Mr Gillani informed participants that the entire electoral roll in AJK had been digitised and integrated with Nadra’s citizen database, enabling automatic voter registration of individuals attaining the age of 18 by the qualifying date.

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2026