Kashmir's Final Poll Phase Opens Amid Protests and Security Crackdown
Final phase of Pakistan-administered Kashmir elections begins in Poonch, with PML-N poised to form government despite JAAC boycott.
Voting commenced Monday in the concluding round of elections for the legislative assembly in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, with polling stations opening in Poonch district where four seats are at stake. The exercise follows weeks of unrest and security operations that have cast a shadow over the campaign period.
Raja Shakeel, a spokesperson for the regional election commission, confirmed that balloting was underway in the four constituencies despite a boycott call from the outlawed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC). The group had urged residents to stay away from the polls.
The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) has already secured a majority, having won 24 of the 34 seats decided in the first two phases. The party is expected to form the regional government for the first time in a decade. Rana Sanaullah, an adviser to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, predicted the PML-N would secure a two-thirds majority.
Several prominent candidates are contesting in this round, including regional Prime Minister Faisal Rathore from Haveli, former prime ministers Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan and Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan, and PML-N senior vice president Mushtaq Minhas.
The election process is being staggered due to security concerns, with officials saying the remaining seats will be decided this month. Newly elected lawmakers will then be sworn in and select the region's next prime minister.
The campaign has been dominated by protests led by the JAAC, which the regional government recently banned over security and public-order concerns. The dispute centers on 12 legislative seats reserved for people displaced from Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1947. The JAAC argues these seats give disproportionate influence to outsiders and has demanded their abolition.
The reserved seats were created to provide representation for displaced persons who settled elsewhere in Pakistan, as Pakistan-administered Kashmir lacked capacity to accommodate them. The government says it has accepted 36 of the group's 38 demands and maintains the reserved-seat issue can only be resolved by the regional assembly.
Kashmir remains divided between Pakistan and India, with both countries claiming the Himalayan territory in full. The two nations have fought two of their three wars over the region since independence in 1947.