Muzaffarabad, August 5, 2026: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) secured one seat each in the two constituencies of Muzaffarabad division where polling was held on Tuesday after elections were fully or partially postponed due to landslides, adverse weather and road blockages that delayed the transportation of polling staff and election materials.
The polling formed part of the second phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections, covering constituencies in Muzaffarabad division and 12 refugee seats reserved for Kashmiris displaced from Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
According to official results issued by the AJK Election Commission, PML-N candidate Noreen Arif won the LA-27 (Kutla) constituency with 18,919 votes, defeating Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) candidate Sardar Tabarak Ali, who secured 18,621 votes, by a margin of 298 votes. PPP’s Sardar Javed Ayoub finished third with 18,037 votes.
In LA-28 (Lachhrat), PPP candidate Syed Bazil Ali Naqvi emerged victorious after securing 28,214 votes, defeating PML-N’s Chaudhry Shahzad Mahmood, who polled 26,866 votes. Syed Yasir Hussain Naqvi of the All Jammu and Kashmir Conference finished third with 873 votes.
Following the announcement of the latest results, the Election Commission also issued notifications to the returned candidates for all constituencies contested during the second phase of the elections.
With the updated results, the PML-N’s overall tally has reached 24 seats, while the PPP has secured 10 seats.
In the first phase of polling held in Mirpur division, the PML-N won nine of the 13 seats, while the PPP secured four seats. During the second phase, including Sunday’s polling and the deferred elections held on Tuesday, the PML-N added 15 more seats to its tally, while the PPP gained six additional seats.
The third and final phase of the AJK elections is scheduled for August 10 in Poonch division, where 11 assembly seats will be contested.
The elections are being conducted in three phases due to security concerns and amid ongoing political unrest linked to protests by the now-proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC).
Since early June, the JAAC has staged demonstrations demanding the abolition of the 12 refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly. The protests have at times turned violent.
The electoral process has also been overshadowed by allegations of rigging and incidents of violence, with both the PML-N and the PPP accusing each other of electoral malpractice during the first and second phases of polling.
