PMLN leaders reject AJK election, announce to launch repoll campaign

Rejecting the results of general elections held in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on July 25 (Sunday), Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) on Tuesday announced it would hold demonstrations to demand re-polling in different constituencies of the state, reported 24News HD TV channel.

Addressing a joint press conference in Muzaffarabad, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, outgoing premier of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Raja Farooq Haider and former federal minister Ahsan Iqbal alleged that the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had rigged the elections to rob the PML-N of its mandate.

Some of the candidates of the opposition party, who had suffered defeat at the hands of their opponents in the AJK elections, and who were also present at the press conference demanded the AJK Election Commission recount the votes in their constituencies.

They alleged that the Kashmir elections held on July 25 had been rigged in the same way as the general elections of 2018.

Abbasi also accused the PTI government of doing pre-poll rigging, adding it was in everyone’s knowledge that Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Ali Amin Gandapur had distributed money among the people of Kashmir during electioneering.

He further alleged that Prime Minister Imran Khan was trying to bring a ‘dummy’ prime minister in Azad Jammu Kashmir as he was following an agenda of forces hostile to the Muslim world.

The PML-N leader further said that statements being issued by some federal ministers showed that the Center was going to make AJK a province of Pakistan and declare the Line of Control (LOC) a permanent border, which, he added, was against the United Nations’ resolutions.

Raja Farooq Haider, the outgoing prime minister of AJK, said although PM Imran Khan claimed to have raised the issue of the right of self-determination of the Kashmiris at the international forums, but had failed to give rights to the Kashmiris in AJK.

The outgoing premier of AJK said Imran Khan was doing politics with Kashmiris to fulfill his international agenda, but they would not remain silent and would run a campaign for exposing him and other players in this game.

He also compared Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Ali Amin Gandapur with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aide and Home Minister Amit Shah who is hated in Indian occupied Kashmir for his venom and vitriolic remarks against people of the state.

The outgoing prime minister also levelled the allegation of pre-poll rigging, adding that ballot papers were found from a jungle.

Speaking on the occasion, Ahsan Iqbal termed the statement given by PM Imran about holding a referendum in AJK a joke with Kashmiris’ sacrifices and a direct attack on the ideology of Pakistan.

He questioned as to why PM Imran was not open to the idea of re-polling in some of the AJK constituencies as was being demanded by PMLN candidates.

He said they would not let the way again to PTI like Daska by-elections to manipulate elections.

He also asked the state institutions to clarify their position that who they were with adding that if state institutions couldn’t maintain their neutrality, it would be tantamount to playing with the country's base.

He further stated that his party would guard every polling station in the next general election of Pakistan.

He also said that some of the projects related to CPEC in Kashmir were canceled like the Muzaffarabad Mansehra Road project.

The PML-N leader also informed that the PML-N had issued a letter to its candidate Ismail Gujjar to explain his position with respect to his statement, seeking India’s help in the AJK elections.