AJK Election Polling Extended After Isolated Violence in Bhimber

MIRPUR: (Our Correspondent) Polling for the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections has been extended by one hour as voting continued across 13 constituencies in Mirpur Division.

More than 1.4 million registered voters were eligible to cast their ballots in the districts of Mirpur, Kotli, and Bhimber. A large number of women also participated in the electoral process, while 296 candidates, including nominees from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party, and independent candidates, contested the first phase of the elections.

A total of 2,454 polling stations were established across Mirpur Division, including 597 in four constituencies of Mirpur district, 1,107 in six constituencies of Kotli district, and 608 in three constituencies of Bhimber district.

An incident of violence was reported at the Darbar Baba Shadi Shaheed polling station in Bhimber, where unidentified individuals allegedly snatched a ballot box and set it on fire during unrest. According to the District Returning Officer (DRO), the destroyed ballot box contained 232 cast votes.

Election officials said the situation remained peaceful at all other polling stations, adding that a decision on whether re-polling will be held at the affected polling station will be taken later.

Inspector General of Police Azad Kashmir Liaquat Ali Malik said law enforcement agencies would take immediate action against any disturbance, stressing that no individual, including political workers, would be allowed to take the law into their own hands.

Chief Secretary of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Khushal Khan said the people had demonstrated their confidence in the democratic process by participating in the elections. He added that all state institutions remained fully prepared to ensure peaceful polling and warned that strict legal action would be taken against anyone attempting to disrupt the electoral process.