MUZAFFARABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Nawaz Sharif has awarded party tickets to five more candidates for the upcoming Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections, including a surprise nomination in LA-36 Jammu-III where a newcomer was preferred over a veteran party loyalist.

The party has yet to announce candidates for three constituencies. According to a communication bearing his signature, Malik Mohammad Nawaz was nominated from LA-8 Kotli-I (Raj Mahal), Chaudhry Mohammad Yasin Gulshan from LA-18 Poonch-I (Abbaspur), Sardar Abdul Khaliq Wasi from LA-22 Poonch-V (Tain/Thorar), Mohammad Ahsan Raza from LA-36 Jammu-III and Mohammad Amir Shah from LA-41 Valley-II.

Mr Raza is the son of former legislator Hafiz Mohammad Raza and the nephew of sitting PTI legislator Hafiz Hamid Raza, whom he had supported in the previous election before joining the PML-N in February last year.

The constituency was represented on a PML-N ticket by Chaudhry Mohammad Ishaq in the 2011 and 2016 elections. However, sources said his bid for the ticket was opposed by PML-N MNAs Chaudhry Armaghan Subhani and Khawaja Mohammad Asif.

By contrast, Mr Ishaq had remained loyal to the PML-N even during the Musharraf era and the PTI government’s tenure.

Speaking to Dawn, he said he was appalled by the decision but would contest the election in deference to the wishes of ordinary PML-N workers.

The PML-N has yet to announce its candidates for three constituencies. In LA-28 Muzaffarabad-II (Lachhrat), Chaudhry Shehzad Mahmood was widely regarded as the frontrunner for the party ticket and, according to his associates, his nomination had all but been finalised.

In LA-1 Mirpur-I (Dadyal), apparently the contest was between former minister Chaudhry Masood Khalid and Shoaib Abid, who had finished second and third, respectively, in the last general election. However, many senior PML-N leaders favoured awarding the ticket to sitting legislator Chaudhry Azhar Sadiq to maximise the party’s chances of grabbing the seat.

According to sources, Mr Sadiq was most likely to get the PML-N ticket.

The situation in LA-45 Valley-VI, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, also remained uncertain. The PML-N had not received any application for the constituency and was initially believed to be considering support for independent candidate Abdul Majid Khan. However, after Mr Khan formally joined the PPP last week, the party was left without an obvious option.

Party sources said the PML-N might now back the Muslim Conference nominee in the constituency.

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2026