• PPP’s Bazil Ali Naqvi maintains narrow lead in LA-28
• PML-N’s Noreen Arif leads by fewer than 200 votes in LA-27
• Talal tells Bilawal to ‘show grace in defeat’ after PPP cries foul over rigging
• AJK speaker alleges 14,000 fake votes after defeat; seeks forensic vote audit in Khawra

MUZAFFARABAD / ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidates appeared poised to secure one seat each in the two constituencies of Muzaffarabad division where polling was held on Tuesday after being fully or partially deferred on Sunday due to landslides and adverse weather that blocked roads and prevented the timely dispatch of polling staff and election material.

According to unofficial and unverified results available past midnight, PPP candidate Syed Bazil Ali Naqvi was maintaining a slender lead over his PML-N rival, Chaudhry Shahzad Mahmood, in LA-28 (Lachhrat). The final consolidation of results was under way when this report went to press.

Polling had been held at 122 of the constituency’s 174 polling stations on Sunday. However, after allegations that PPP workers had taken away ballot boxes, the Election Commission ordered repolling at two of those stations, along with polling at the remaining 52 stations where voting could not be held.

In LA-27 (Kutla), where polling had been postponed entirely, voting was held at all 197 polling stations on Tuesday.

According to unofficial results from all polling stations, PML-N candidate Noreen Arif and Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) candidate Sardar Tabarak Ali were separated by fewer than 200 votes, with Ms Arif holding a narrow lead.

PML-N leaders expressed confidence that the inclusion of votes cast by government employees on election duty would further consolidate Ms Arif’s lead.

Outside her residence, PML-N supporters celebrated by dancing to the beat of drums as counting continued late into the night.

Earlier, voting concluded at 5pm amid reports of scuffles and sporadic firing between rival political workers.

While both constituencies witnessed allegations of irregularities, the PPP focused most of its criticism on LA-27, whereas the PML-N levelled serious allegations regarding polling in LA-28.

In a complaint submitted to the Election Commission, PML-N election cell in-charge Hanif Malik alleged widespread violence, irregularities and voter suppression in LA-28, claiming that armed men resorted to firing and illegally occupied polling stations to inflate votes for the PPP candidate.

He alleged that the party’s polling agent at the Nazian polling station in Union Council Panjkot was forcibly expelled, after which polling was conducted unilaterally in favour of the PPP candidate. He further claimed that in Ghorian village of Union Council Muzaffarabad, firing and road blockades prevented PML-N supporters from reaching polling stations.

The PPP, on the other hand, alleged that polling staff in LA-27 had been “caught red-handed” with official ballot papers and polling bags inside the house of a PML-N supporter about two kilometres from the designated polling station.

The party also circulated a statement by its vice president, Sherry Rehman, in which she described the reports as alarming and said videos purportedly showing “rigging by the PML-N” had been submitted to the Election Commission, urging immediate disciplinary and legal action. Her allegations were repeatedly aired by several television channels.

However, Election Commission Senior Member Khawaja Muhammad Ahsan told Dawn that although a PPP worker had submitted videos to the commission, they were “vague and amounted to little more than unverified allegations”.

“Unless the footage is authenticated through proper forensic examination and corroborated by other credible evidence, it cannot be treated as proof,” he said.

The PPP also shared another complaint addressed to the Election Commission on X, accusing the PML-N of ballot stuffing at polling stations No. 95 and No. 97 in LA-28 and of obstructing the polling process by barring voters from casting their votes.

PML-N rejects claims

Minister of State for Interior and PML-N’s election coordinator for Poonch division, Tallal Chaudhry, rejected the PPP’s allegations of rigging in the AJK elections and took a swipe at PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, saying “leaders should not cry over defeat”, according to a statement issued by the interior ministry.

Presiding over a review meeting on the third phase of the AJK elections in Poonch division, Mr Chaudhry said the PML-N’s sweeping victory in the first two phases reflected public trust in the performance of the federal and Punjab governments.

“The people of Kashmir have voted for work and performance,” he told district constituency coordinators and PML-N candidates from Poonch division who attended the meeting.

Apparently responding to the PPP’s allegations of electoral malpractices, the minister said: “Bilawal Bhutto should show a big heart. Leaders do not look good when they cry over defeat.”

Muzaffarabad Deputy Commissioner Munir Ahmed Qureshi also rejected the PPP’s allegation that polling staff had stayed at the residence of a political figure near the Bheri polling station.

Meanwhile, AJK Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retired) Ghulam Mustafa Mughal cast his vote in his native village of Balgran in LA-27. “Voting is a national trust and the responsibility of every citizen,” he said, adding that exercising the right to vote strengthened the democratic system.

The first phase of polling was held in AJK’s Mirpur division on July 27, in which the PML-N secured nine of the 13 seats while the PPP won the remaining four.

EC rejects postponement rumours

Separately, an Election Commission spokesperson dismissed reports that the third phase of elections in Poonch Division had been postponed.

“News circulating regarding the postponement of the elections is baseless and contrary to facts,” the spokesperson said, reiterating that polling in all constituencies of Poonch Division would be held on Aug 10 in accordance with the announced schedule.

Poonch Division comprises 11 constituencies — three in Bagh, one in Haveli, five in Poonch and two in Sudhnoti.

The spokesperson urged voters to ignore rumours and exercise their right to vote, adding that the commission would promptly inform the public if any change became inevitable.

On Monday, Chief Election Commissioner Mughal had said polling would definitely be held in three constituencies of Bagh district, one in Haveli district and one in Abbaspur of Poonch district, while the commission was also considering holding elections in the two Sudhnoti constituencies of Baloch and Palandri if the law and order situation improved.

He had said the commission was prepared to conduct polling in all constituencies except Rawalakot city and Thorar, provided voters rejected intimidation and the law and order situation permitted.

AJK speaker alleges fake votes

Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar on Tuesday accused the Election Commission of failing to ensure free, fair and impartial elections, alleging that more than 14,000 “fake votes” had been cast in favour of his rival in LA-30 Khawra.

According to unofficial results, PML-N candidate Raja Saqib Majeed won the seat with 32,511 votes, defeating Mr Akbar by 8,554 votes.

Addressing a press conference, the senior PPP leader said he had been in electoral politics for four decades and had won several elections, including during military rule and under opponent governments in Islamabad.

“However, I have never witnessed elections as controversial as the ongoing ones in the territory’s history. By no stretch of the imagination can these be called free, fair and impartial,” he alleged.

Mr Akbar called for a forensic examination of the votes polled by his rival, saying the PPP was prepared to bear the cost.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2026