• Claims nine out of 13 seats in Mirpur division, sweeps Bhimber and most Kotli constituencies
• PPP terms count ‘rigged’, claims their ‘mandate stolen’ in Mirpur and Kotli
• Party to stage protest rally in Muzaffarabad on Thursday; Bilawal renews call for ‘truth commission’
• CM Maryam, Ahsan Iqbal urge PPP to ‘remember GB’, say party should ‘show grace’
• Sharjeel flays ‘open display of weapons’ during polling, asks Punjab CM to ‘drop arrogant tone’
MUZAFFARABAD / LAHORE: The PPP and the PML-N, coalition partners in the Centre, traded barbs on Tuesday after the conclusion of the first phase of elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), with Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s party alleging widespread rigging, and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz urging the party to accept its defeat and move on.
According to preliminary results issued by the AJK Election Commission, the PML-N emerged as the winner in nine constituencies, while the PPP could secure only four seats.
Following an intense election campaign by both parties in the lead-up to the polls, the PML-N emerged victorious in Mirpur district’s Dadyal and Khari Sharif; Bhimber district’s Barnala, Samahni and Bhimber; and Kotli district’s Nakyal, Sehnsa, Charhoi and Khuiratta, according to unofficial results.
Meanwhile, the PPP secured the key city of Mirpur, as well as the district’s Chakswari, along with two seats in Kotli.
Polls in AJK are being held in three phases over security concerns, and the first phase concluded in Mirpur division on Monday. Scuffles, violence and allegations of rigging had marred the polling process, with the PML-N and PPP accusing each other of electoral malpractice.
The second and third phases of the elections are scheduled for August 2 in nine constituencies of the Muzaffarabad division and all 12 refugee constituencies, and on August 10 in 11 constituencies of the Poonch division, respectively.
Bilawal alleges rigging
Addressing a workers’ convention in Muzaffarabad a day after the first phase of polling, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari alleged widespread rigging and violence, claiming his party’s mandate had been “stolen” in several constituencies.
Quoting the Roman historian Tacitus, “They create a desolation and call it peace”, the PPP chief questioned whether the prevailing conditions in AJK reflected democratic values.
Claiming the PPP enjoyed overwhel-ming public support in Mirpur, he alleged that polling stations had been forcibly taken over and polling agents expelled in several constituencies.
Questioning the rationale for holding the elections in phases, he alleged the arrangement had facilitated electoral manipulation rather than ensured transparency. He also claimed polling stations had been seized in the constituencies of senior PPP leaders and accused the authorities of failing to intervene despite incidents of violence.
“If they think we will let them steal our mandate in Mirpur and Kotli, then they are gravely mistaken,” he said. He also criticised the prolonged internet shutdown in parts of AJK, saying such measures and incidents of violence undermined the region’s democratic credentials.
He announced that the PPP would hold a rally in Muzaffarabad on July 30 under the slogan “Kashmir Pe Daaka, Na-Manzoor”, adding that the party’s struggle would continue until every “stolen” vote was recovered.
The PPP chairman also renewed his call for a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate the recent unrest in AJK, urging both the government and protesters to accept its findings to help restore peace.
Criticising both sides for failing to pursue dialogue, he said the dispute could have been resolved without bloodshed. He regretted the protesters’ refusal to attend an all-parties conference and the government’s failure to seek a negotiated settlement.
He said an impartial inquiry should determine responsibility for the violence, stressing that justice could not be achieved through street confrontations and expressing sympathy for the families of all those killed.
Accept defeat, says Maryam
In a televised statement, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz hailed the PML-N’s “outstanding victory” in the first phase of the elections.
Responding to Mr Bhutto-Zardari’s allegations, she said it was “not the state that decides election results, but the people”, and urged the PPP to accept defeat.
She recalled that when the PPP won the Gilgit-Baltistan elections, the PML-N acknowledged the result, congratulated the party and invited it to form the government.
“Now you are alleging rigging by the PML-N. When you won the GB election there was no rigging, but now that you have lost the AJK election badly, you are making these allegations,” she said.
The Punjab chief minister said the PPP should instead have focused on its performance, built a convincing narrative and presented a programme for the people.
“Despite ruling Sindh continuously, you have no projects to show, could not present your performance and failed to offer the people of AJK a roadmap for the future.”
“If you want votes, you cannot win public support by crying foul. People are much more aware these days.”
She accused the party of spending its campaign blaming the federal government, while forgetting that it had been in power in AJK for the past year.
She urged voters in the remaining phases of the election in the Poonch and Muzaffarabad divisions to support the PML-N and congratulated the people of AJK for making what she described as “the best choice”.
‘Undemocratic’ accusations
Shortly after Maryam’s address, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, flanked by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, urged Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to refrain from making what he called “immature statements”, describing the PPP’s allegations of rigging as “undemocratic”.
Calling Bilawal’s accusations “undemocratic”, Mr Iqbal noted: “Everything was fine until 6pm yesterday. No allegations of rigging were made and nothing was brought to our notice. That changed only after the results were announced.”
He said Bilawal’s remarks reflected “an undemocratic mindset” and urged him to congratulate the PML-N instead of levelling allegations of rigging.
‘Fake mandate’
Responding to CM Maryam’s remarks, Senior Sindh Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon accused the PML-N of “stealing the mandate” of the people of AJK through “rigged elections”.
He said weapons had been used openly during polling and that a PPP worker had been killed, adding that the Punjab chief minister should have condemned the violence instead of adopting what he described as an arrogant tone.
Mr Memon alleged that the PML-N itself was governing Punjab on the basis of a “fake mandate” and now wanted to secure victory in AJK through rigging.
“You are sitting in your position because of a fake mandate,” he said, addressing Maryam. He maintained that voters judged political parties by their performance, which, he claimed, was why the PPP’s support had increased with every election.
Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2026
