Results withheld in Bagh, Haveli amid demands for recounting
• Defeated ex-PM Sardar Attique congratulates Sajid Iqbal Abbasi for Dhirkot victory
• PPP candidate ahead in LA-15; ‘N’ man leads LA-16 count
• Race between PM Rathore, PML-N’s Mohsin Aziz remains disputed
MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Election Commission on Tuesday announced the result of one constituency, but withheld the results of two others in Bagh district pending repolling at 23 polling stations over the weekend.
The announced result was for LA-14 (Bagh-I), commonly known as Dhirkot, where Jammu Kashmir Awami Dast-o-Bazu Party candidate Sajid Iqbal Abbasi secured a landslide victory with 40,522 votes.
He defeated former prime minister and Muslim Conference president Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, who received 19,637 votes. PML-N candidate Raja Faisal Azad secured 3,031 votes, while PPP candidate Raja Mubashar Ejaz got 2,748 votes.
In a social media post, Khan congratulated his electoral rival on his success and said he accepted the people’s decision with an open heart.
“I congratulate Sajid Iqbal Abbasi, chairman of Awami Dast-o-Bazu, on his success in the election and accept the people’s decision with an open heart,” he wrote.
In LA-15 (Central Bagh), PPP’s Sardar Ziaul Qamar was leading with 16,637 votes, followed by PML-N’s Mushtaq Ahmed Minhas with 15,015 and Jamaat-i-Islami’s Brig (retired) Dr Muhammad Khan with 12,259 votes.
On Monday night, AJK Legislative Assembly Speaker and senior PPP leader Chaudhry Latif Akbar had claimed in a post on X that Mr Qamar had won by a margin of 3,000 votes.
However, the unverified and unofficial results compiled by the Returning Officer put the lead at 1,622 votes. The result was withheld pending repolling at nine polling stations on Aug 15, where a total of 5,032 votes were registered.
In LA-16 (Eastern Bagh), PML-N’s Sardar Mir Akbar secured 19,515 votes against Sardar Qamaruz Zaman’s 16,290, giving Mr Akbar a lead of 3,225 votes. The result of this constituency was also withheld because polling could not be held at 14 polling stations, accounting for 7,238 registered votes.
LA-17 (Haveli), meanwhile, emerged as the most contentious constituency. Initial reports had put PML-N candidate Engr Mohsin Aziz ahead of Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, but the contest appeared to have become extremely close as the night wore on.
After some television channels reported that Rathore had won, thousands of Aziz’s supporters gathered at the district courts, effectively surrounding the offices of the RO and district returning officer (DRO).
Aziz complained that Form 24s, containing the votes secured by candidates at individual polling stations, had allegedly been tampered with.
“We possess the results signed by the presiding officers of all polling stations, showing a clear winning margin of 8,600 votes,” he claimed.
Referring to Rathore as a “Form 47 prime minister”, he alleged that his rival was attempting to convert his defeat into victory through fraudulent means.
According to Election Commission sources, Aziz submitted an application to the RO on Tuesday morning.
Amid the tense situation, the commission, with the assistance of the army’s Quick Response Force (QRF), safely evacuated DRO Waheed Mughal and RO Asheer Chughtai, along with the sealed polling bags, amid apprehensions that the polling material could be damaged or set on fire.
When contacted, Chief Election Commissioner retired Justice Ghulam Mustafa Mughal said a decision on the matter would be taken after the polling bags and relevant election records reached the commission’s office.
In a statement, Aziz challenged the PPP leadership to prove him wrong, saying he would quit politics if he failed to emerge victorious by a substantial margin in a recount.
He claimed that his application seeking a recount had been rejected by the RO.
“The RO’s partiality has destroyed the peaceful atmosphere of Haveli, but we will not allow anyone to steal our mandate,” he said.
“In any case, a recount is my fundamental right and our protest will continue until a recount is conducted and the mandate is restored,” he added.
“Great injustice”
Reacting to the controversy, PML-N regional president Shah Ghulam Qadir said “great injustice” had been done to his party’s candidate through the preparation of “fabricated results” in Monday’s election, leaving party workers and supporters “extremely charged up”.
“However, I have asked Aziz to keep his supporters calm to avoid creating any law and order situation and to use all legal means to secure his legitimate right,” he said.
Qadir expressed hope that the Election Commission would resolve the matter “without fear or favour”, in accordance with the Constitution, law and the people’s mandate, and provide justice to Aziz at the earliest.
Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2026
