GUJRAT: At least 12 candidates from different parties and independents have filed nomination papers for the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K) legislative assembly elections of LA-38 (Jammu 5) scheduled for July 27.

The seat comprises immigrants of Jammu residing in three districts including Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin and Wazirabad.

The candidates include AJ&K former minister Akbar Ibrahim of the PML-Q, Zeeshan Younis of the PML-N, Prof Rana Umar Siddique of Jamaat-i-Islami, Raja Shahid Iqbal, Mukhtar Baig, Muhammad Waseem, Khalid Mahmood, Chaudhry Fazal Ali, Hassan Mahmood, Suleman Younis, Raja Ibrar and Sirmad Riaz.

Official sources said that the 12 aspirants for the seat had submitted their nomination papers, however, they were yet to submit party tickets, after which the election symbols would be allotted.

This is the first time that the PML-Q had registered itself as a political party in the AJK and is fielding candidates for the upcoming elections.

PML Q’s newly-elected AJK General Secretary Akbar Ibrahim had previously been elected thrice on LA-38, twice as an independent and during the previous elections in 2021, he was elected on the PTI ticket.

Mr Ibrahim was a close associate of former federal minister Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain, whereas the PML-N’s nominee was being backed by the Nawabzada family, as a large chunk of the voters belong to NA-63 (Jalalpur Jattan and Tanda), where Wajahat Hussain and Nawabzada Ghazanfar Gull were traditional rivals. The number of total registered voters on this seat is 50,225 with 35,787 in the Gujrat district, 11,247 in Wazirabad, and 3,191 voters in the Mandi Bahauddin district, whereas the total number of polling stations is 117 in the three districts.

An official meeting to review the preparations for the polling day was held at the Gujrat district administration complex on Tuesday, where Gujrat District Election Commissioner Imran Zafar briefed Deputy Commissioner Nurulain Qureshi and DPO Akhtar Farooq.

The arrangements for transportation of polling material, security and other matters to ensure transparency during polling were discussed during the meeting.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2026