The first phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections is underway in the 13 constituencies of Mirpur division.

Polling began at 8am and will continue till 5pm. Today (Monday) has been declared a public holiday in all three districts — Bhimber, Mirpur, and Kotli — of the division to facilitate polling.

A total of 288 candidates are contesting today’s election. According to the Election Commission, votes will be cast at 2,316 polling stations, of which 1,241 have been declared “highly sensitive” and 724 “sensitive”.

Election monitoring has been organised through 13 zones and 205 sectors across the division, while 18,560 personnel from police and other law enforcement agencies have been deployed under a three-tier security plan.

Under the arrangement, police are providing the first layer of security, Pakistan Rangers (Punjab), Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) and the Federal Constabulary the second, and the Pakistan Army the third. Around 2,100 army personnel were also to be deployed, while Quick Response Force (QRF) teams were to remain on standby to respond to any emergency.

Skirmishes and scuffles between workers of the PPP and PML-N were reported in some areas of Kotli district, where both parties have accused the other of rigging at some polling stations.

Subsequently, polling at certain stations was briefly suspended before it was allowed to resume.

Mirpur Commissioner Raja Tahir Mumtaz Khan visited various polling stations and noted that the electoral process was underway across the division with the “security apparatus in place”.

Speaking to the media in the afternoon, AJK Inspector General of Police (IGP) retired Captain Liaqat Ali Malik said the polling process was underway in a largely peaceful manner.

Addressing the “one or two incidents” reported, he said minor scuffles were a “part of political activity”.

The police chief said some verbal arguments could occur as “temperatures are usually high” at some of the 2,316 polling stations where a close competition is expected.

IGP Malik noted that the police’s responsibility was to perform their duties in a “neutral, transparent and unbiased” manner.

Asked about an incident in LA-6 and a fire at a polling station in Bhimber, he said QRF teams stationed nearby responded.

The police chief further asserted that legal action will be taken against anyone who attempts to disrupt polling regardless of their political affiliation. He reiterated that such scuffles “routinely take place during such a process”.

Polls in AJK are being held in three phases over security concerns. The second and third phases are scheduled for August 2 and August 10 in nine constituencies of Muzaffarabad division and all 12 refugee constituencies, and 11 constituencies of Poonch division, respectively.

AJK Chief Justice Raja Saeed Akram Khan cast his ballot at a polling station in Bhimber’s Samahni tehsil.

Rigging allegations

Ahead of the voting, the PML-N alleged pre-poll rigging in Kotli’s LA-10 constituency. Rana Sanaullah, who is also the prime minister’s adviser on political affairs, alleged that PPP President in AJK Chaudhry Yasin was involved in election rigging and that presiding officers involved in the act had been apprehended.

In an audio clip played on Geo News, he also demanded the AJK government and the AJK prime minister arrest a patwari he identified as Qaisar and interrogate him on the matter to locate others involved in the alleged rigging.

Sanaullah said the election results in the constituency would not be acceptable to his party until the completion of this “inquiry”.

While there was no official statement from the AJK government explicitly referring to the incident, a statement released by the Press Information Department late on Sunday said two presiding officers in Kotli had been arrested after it was reported that instead of reaching the relevant polling stations they had gone to “a residence”.

“When the incident was reported, the returning officer issued directives to confiscate the polling material provided to the two presiding officers and replace them.

“The returning officer took the polling material into his custody, removed the presiding officers from their duties and had them arrested,” the statement said.

It added that action was being taken against them according to the law while two new presiding officers had been deployed in their place at the relevant polling stations.

For his part, PPP’s Nadeem Afzal Chan responded to Sanaullah’s allegation in a video statement, saying that his party had been pointing out from “day one that you have been announcing projects [in AJK] and your federal ministers are present at government offices on the day of polling”.

“So our first demand is that the federal government’s machinery should not interfere [in the elections] at all,” he said, further referring to the PML-N’s provision of e-buses to Mirpur and Muzaffarabad over the past few days.

He also alleged the use of government resources in elections, demanding an end to it. Chan stressed the need for fair and transparent elections, saying: “We will not let rigging happen at any cost. Have some patience and let people cast their vote.”

In a separate post, the PPP urged the Election Commission to take notice of the PML-N’s alleged “attempts to influence polling” in Union Council Throchi of the LA-12 constituency (Kotli-V), where Yasin is the PPP candidate.

PPP AJK Election Cell Incharge Sardar Abdul Shakoor said that PML-N candidate Raja Riasat Khan allegedly entered “polling stations along with armed men and is trying to influence the polling process” in the constituency where the PPP AJK president is contesting.

Shakoor further said that “slow mobile phone service” was creating difficulties in communication for residents, the media and rescue authorities.

The PPP urged the Election Commission to ensure security at polling stations and an “independent, just and peaceful electoral environment”.

The PPP also accused the PML-N of “interfering in the polling process” in the LA-8 constituency of Kotli.

The party alleged in a post on X that the PML-N was trying to interfere in and disrupt the polling process at the Raj Mahal polling station.

The PPP demanded that the Election Commission take notice of the matter, ensure fair, transparent and peaceful polling, and take action against those violating the election code of conduct.

Bilawal vs Nawaz

The PPP and PML-N, which are allies in the Centre, have been engaging in a war of words lately and taking jibes at each other, as the two parties emerge as major contenders in the AJK race.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and ex-premier Nawaz Sharif were both participating in canvassing in the lead-up to the polls, with observers seeing this election as a contest between the two.

Addressing a public rally in AJK’s Mirpur on Friday as part of his party’s election campaign, Nawaz had named Bilawal and said Kashmir should not be mistaken for Kashmore, nor Mirpur for Mirpurkhas — districts of Sindh where the PPP has been in power for years.

The PML-N had also given 10 e-buses to Muzaffarabad and Mirpur as a “gift” and announced development schemes, prompting the PPP to decry poll code violations.

Bilawal on Sunday responded to Nawaz’s jibe, saying that whether it’s Kashmir or Kashmore, Mirpur or Mirpurkhas, their residents were “not ready to bargain away their rights”.

He also directly commented on Nawaz and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s announcement of “gifting” electric buses and hospitals on wheels to people of AJK before the election.

“Something built with the public’s money is not a gift from any politician — it is the public’s right,” he said, adding that he wanted to secure for the people of Kashmir the right to governance, the right to ownership, and the right to employment.

CEC urges citizens to vote, warns against disrupting polls

On Sunday, AJK Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Ghulam Mustafa Mughal urged more than 1.4 million registered voters to turn out in large numbers to elect their representatives.

In a video message, the CEC said elaborate security arrangements had been made for the polls, with security forces and Quick Response Force teams deployed at polling stations and security also being ensured for voters travelling to and from polling stations. He warned that anyone attempting to disrupt the polling process would face strict legal action.

The warning followed the announcement by the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) on social media about a planned long march from Mirpur division towards Muzaffarabad on Sunday. A core member of the JAAC, Umar Nazir Kashmiri, had claimed that caravans would converge at the Rawalakot sit-in, before marching towards Muzaffarabad after Zuhr prayers on the election day.

However, when Mirpur police deputy inspector general (DIG) was asked about the protest call given by the banned outfit, the official told Dawn on Sunday evening that not a single person had turned up anywhere to participate in any Rawalakot-bound rally.

Meanwhile, AJK Chief Secretary Khushal Khan also warned of strict legal action against anyone attempting to disrupt the polling process or disturb public order afterwards.