MUZAFFARABAD: Three candidates of the ruling PML-N and one nominee of the opposition PPP were declared elected unopposed to the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Council on Friday.

The AJK Election Commission Secretariat formally notified their election after the scrutiny of nomination papers found them valid.

According to a notification issued by Commission Secretary Ayaz Bashir, the four were declared elected under Section 18 of the AJK Council (Election) Act, 1976, on the basis of the election returns submitted by the returning officer.

The four vacant seats had been contested by three PML-N nominees and one PPP nominee, whose documents were filed on Thursday. No other candidate entered the contest, resulting in their election unopposed after scrutiny on Friday.

The newly elected Council members are former Legislative Assembly speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar of the PPP from Muzaffarabad, former minister Mushtaq Ahmed Minhas of the PML-N from Bagh, former minister Chaudhry Muhammad Saeed of the PML-N from Mirpur, and Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed of the PML-N from Muzaffarabad.

Except for Mr Manzoor, the other three had contested the recent general elections on their respective party tickets but were unsuccessful.

Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Tariq Farooq felicitated the four members.

“Their long parliamentary experience and public service will, I am confident, strengthen the Council’s role in upholding the Constitution and law, promoting good governance, sustainable development, and further strengthening the historic, ideological and intellectual bonds between the people of AJK and Pakistan,” he said in a post on X.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2026