By Ulviye Filiyeva Erkec
Legislative Assembly elections were held in the Pakistan-Administered Azad Jammu Kashmir, on Sunday, 25 July.
Local Election Commission Spokesperson Raja Ezher Iqbal announced that Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Justice Movement Party (PTI) was at the lead, winning twenty-four out of a total of forty-five seats.
According to Muhammad Ghazanfar Khan, Secretary of the Azad Jammu Kashmir Election Commission, unofficial results are now known for all constituencies except LA-16 Bagh.
According to unofficial results, PTI will form the government as the largest political party in the Azad Jammu Kashmir Legislative Assembly.
Two people died and many injured in four different incidents that occurred while voting continued Sunday in Kotli, Haveeli, Bagh and Hattian Balla districts of Azad Jammu Kashmir. Police officer Mohammad Shabir told Reuters that the deceased were pollsters from the ruling party.
In Azad Jammu Kashmir, the elections held since 1975 are usually won by the party in charge of Islamabad. However, the weak point of Khan’s Justice Movement Party (PTI) candidates is their inability to control the economy and inflation.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan vehemently rejected the idea that the Pakistani government PTI intends to make Azad Jammu Kashmir a province of Pakistan. Speaking at a public meeting in Tarar Khale in Azad Jammu Kashmir on Friday, the Prime Minister said that only Kashmiris can decide their future through a referendum, as per UN Security Council resolutions. Imran Khan said he would allow Kashmiris to choose between joining Pakistan or keeping their independence in a future referendum.