RAWALPINDI: a total of 12 candidates have filed their nomination papers for the two refugee seats for the Azad Jammu and Kashmir general elections.

As many as five candidates have filed nomination papers from Valley 4 constituency while 7 candidates have filed nomination papers from Valley 5 constituency.

The number of registered votes of men and women in both the constituencies is more than 10,000. In the phase of filing nomination papers, PML-N’s Mohammad Ahmed Raza Qadri and Mohammad Yasin Lone, Jamaat-i-Islami’s Mohammad Hanif Dar, Muslim Conference candidate Mehrun Nisa, PPP’s Zeeshan Mehdi, Hamza Majeed Bazmi, Abdul Hameed Babu, Rashid Islam Butt and Khawaja Zafar Shahzad have also filed nomination papers.

According to Returning Officer Safia Akbar, the number of registered voters in Valley 5 is 6,926, of which 3,294 are women and 3,632 are men. She said that a total of 27 polling stations will be set up in Valley 5.

In Valley 4, Returning Officer Tanveer Ahmed, the number of registered voters in Valley 4 is 3,346, of which 1,596 are female voters and 1,750 are male voters. He said that 10 polling stations will be set up for voting in Valley 4, while the date for submission of nomination papers has been extended to June 23.

However, due to Muharram, the scrutiny process is likely to be affected.

The Election Commission of Azad Kashmir has been informed about the possible closure of roads by the candidates.

The constituencies for Kashmiri refugees, who will elect 12 members of the Azad Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly (AJKLA) on July 27, are scattered far and wide across Pakistan.

The Rawalpindi, Sialkot and Narowal districts have the largest concentration of the refugeevoters as four seatswill be contested in these areas.

The voters living in ward numbers 1 to 14 within the limits of Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) as they existed in 1985; Rawalpindi Cantonment wards numbers 1 to 10 Kashmir Valley-4 seat; Rawalpindi district outside the limits of RMC; Islamabad Capital Territory and Attock district will cast their ballots for the Kashmir Valley-5 seat.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2026