MUZAFFARABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Sunday announced candidates for 35 of the 45 seats of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly, while withholding decisions on eight constituencies and allocating two seats to its electoral ally, the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Fazl) (JUI-F).
The decisions were taken by the party’s 19-member parliamentary board, chaired by Faryal Talpur, which held its first formal meeting in Islamabad on Saturday. The board interviewed aspirants for all 33 territorial and 12 refugee constituencies during an eight-hour session attended by all but three members.
PPP regional president Chaudhry Mohammad Yasin was once again awarded tickets from two constituencies — LA-10 (Kotli-III) and LA-12 (Kotli-V). In the 2021 elections, he won both seats but retained LA-12, paving the way for his son, Amir Yasin, to win the ensuing by-election from LA-10, their native Charhoi constituency. Party sources said Mr Yasin had again opted to contest both seats to ensure his return to the assembly.
In Kotli district, cabinet members Malik Zafar Iqbal, Javed Iqbal Budhanvi and Chaudhry Ikhlaq retained tickets for LA-8, LA-9 and LA-11, respectively. However, the board deferred its decision on LA-13 after failing to break a deadlock between Information Minister Rafique Nayyar and Waleed Inqilabi. Mr Nayyar, who had entered the assembly on a PTI ticket in 2021 through a reserved seat, joined the PPP in June last year.
In Mirpur district, former minister Afsar Shahid secured the ticket for LA-1, while ministers Chaudhry Qasim Majeed and Chaudhry Yasir Sultan retained their constituencies, LA-2 and LA-3. The party nominated Chaudhry Sohaib Arshad, son of minister Chaudhry Arshad Hussain, for LA-4.
In neighbouring Bhimber district, former minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Ashraf received the ticket for LA-5 (Barnala), while decisions on LA-6 (Samahni) and LA-7 (Bhimber City) were deferred. Notably, minister Chaudhry Ali Shan Soni, who won LA-6 in each of the previous four elections and joined the PPP last year along with former prime minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, did not seek the party ticket and is believed to be preparing to contest as an independent candidate.
Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, who also serves as the PPP’s regional secretary general, retained the ticket for his native LA-17 (Bagh-IV, Haveli). Other nominees from Poonch division included former minister Sardar Qamaruz Zaman (LA-16), Sardar Amjad Yousaf (LA-18), Sardar Saud Sadiq (LA-19), former president Sardar Yaqoob Khan (LA-20), Sardar Abid Hussain Abid (LA-21) and minister Faheem Akhtar Rabbani (LA-24).
In Muzaffarabad division, Senior Minister Mian Abdul Waheed and ministers Sardar Javed Ayoub, Syed Bazil Ali Naqvi and Deevan Ali Chughtai retained their respective constituencies, while Mukhtar Abbasi, Mubashar Munir Awan and Sahibzada Ishfaque Zaffar were nominated for LA-29, LA-30 and LA-32, respectively.
The party withheld its decision on LA-31 (Muzaffarabad-V), traditionally represented by Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar, after his nomination papers were rejected by the returning officer. His appeal is scheduled to be heard by the Election Commission on Monday.
The board also postponed decisions on all three constituencies from which former prime minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas had sought the PPP ticket — LA-15 (Bagh-II), LA-22 (Poonch-V) and LA-25 (Neelum-I).
Mr Ilyas had won LA-15 in the 2021 elections, while his aunt, Shahida Saghir, was elected from LA-22. Following his disqualification in April 2023, PPP candidate Sardar Ziaul Qamar, son of Sardar Qamaruz Zaman, won the by-election from LA-22. Sources said Ms Saghir’s son, government adviser Ahmed Saghir, had sought the PPP nomination from the same constituency.
The decision to keep Mr Ilyas’ constituencies pending appeared to have irked his supporters.
“By doing this, the PPP has not given a good message. Politics of Sardar Tanveer Ilyas is not dependent on the PPP. We will soon inform the party leadership of our course of action,” Sardar Iftikhar Rasheed, a close aide of Mr Ilyas, wrote on social media.
On Sunday afternoon, the PPP leadership dispatched a high-powered delegation, comprising Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, former AJK president Sardar Yaqoob Khan and some other party leaders, to persuade Mr Ilyas to stay on board.
The delegation sought time until Monday to resolve the issue, Mr Rasheed toldDawn.
Besides withholding decisions on seven territorial constituencies, the PPP left LA-14 (Bagh-I) and LA-23 (Sudhnoti/Poonch-VI) to its ally, the JUI-F, under a formal seat adjustment agreement announced by PPP’s Chaudhry Yasin and JUI-F’s Maulana Saeed Yousaf at a joint press conference at Kashmir House on Sunday.
Under the arrangement, the JUI-F would support PPP candidates in all other constituencies, the two leaders said.
LA-14 has long been represented by Muslim Conference president Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, while LA-23 is currently held by Sardar Mohammad Hussain, who was elected on a PTI ticket in 2021 before joining the PPP last year.
Among the refugee constituencies, former deputy speaker Shaheen Kosar Dar was the only woman to receive a PPP ticket, from LA-34 (Jammu-IV). The party nominated retired Col Qadeer Chauhan, Chaudhry Asif Gujjar, Ahsan Ismail Gujjar, Raja Shahid Iqbal and Chaudhry Fakhar Zaman for the remaining Jammu refugee seats.
In the six Valley refugee constituencies, Aamir Abdul Ghaffar Lone, the PPP’s only refugee-seat winner in 2021, retained his ticket, as did sitting legislators Javed Butt and Abdul Majid Khan. Ghulam Abbas Mir and Rashid Salam Butt were nominated for LA-41 and LA-44, respectively, while the decision on LA-42 was deferred.
Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2026