Azad Jammu and Kashmir revises election schedule amid protests, pledges peaceful polls

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) will hold its Legislative Assembly elections in three phases, with voting in the Mirpur Division on July 27, in Muzaffarabad on August 2, and in Poonch on August 10. Twelve seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees in Pakistan will also be contested on August 2.

The election commission said the polls will be “free, fair, transparent and peaceful” and will permit full access for international observers and journalists. This assurance comes as the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a civil‑rights alliance recently banned under anti‑terrorism laws, has led protests that have resulted in roughly 30 deaths, clashes with law enforcement, business closures and disruption of campaigning.

The campaign period has seen massive rallies by the PPP and PML‑N, a boycott by PTI, and an armed attack on senior candidate Sardar Ilyas Tanvir of the IPP, underscoring the volatile security environment ahead of the vote.