LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has finalised around 90 per cent of tickets for the upcoming Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections, which will be issued within a day or two, according to a PTI Kashmir Chapter leader who attended the meeting presided over by PML-N President Nawaz Sharif.
The party leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Express Tribune that Nawaz Sharif has approved approximately 38 tickets for AJK, which will be issued either on Thursday or Friday. He noted that, barring one seat—LA-10 Kotli City, where a new candidate, Fateeh Mehmood Kiyani, replaced seven-time MLA Malik Muhammad Nawaz—there were no surprises. The AJK party leadership received tickets as expected and requested.
The ticket for LA-41 (Valley-2), a refugee seat in Lahore, has been withheld pending formal approval from Hamza Shehbaz, under whose jurisdiction the seat falls. The seat is expected to be allotted to Ayesha. Party President Shah Ghulam Qadir has been awarded tickets from both Upper Neelum (LA-25) and Lower Neelum (LA-26).
According to the source, tickets for six seats have been kept pending, including LA-45 (Valley-5, Peshawar-Hazara), where an ally could be issued the ticket. Nawaz was of the view that an amicable solution should be found to the “mess” created by the recently outlawed faction. However, the party will move full steam ahead with its election campaign, as protests and sit-ins are limited to only three to four constituencies.
The source noted that the law and order situation is for the administration to manage, adding that refugees must not be deprived of their seats. “These refugees have no voice, nor do they have any representation other than these seats.” When asked about differing viewpoints among parties, he said that since 10 seats lie in Punjab, it gives PML-N an additional advantage, as the only other party with a sizable vote bank is in “disarray”. Other parties with no foothold in the province would face difficulties. “Take these seats away, and PML-N loses its advantage.”
According to the source, the ticket distribution for various constituencies is as follows:
- LA-1 Mir Pur 1: pending
- LA-2 Mirpur 2: Chaudhary Azeem Baskh
- LA-3 Mirpur 3: Chaudhry Muhammad Saeed
- LA-4 Mir Pur 4 (Khari Sharif): Chaudary Rukhsar Ahmed
- LA-5 Barnala: Col (retd) Waqar Ahmed Noor
- LA-6 Bhimber 2: Chaudary Muhammad Razaq
- LA-7 Bhimber 3: Chaudhry Tariq Farooq
- LA-8 Kotli 1 (Raj Mehal): Malik Zulfiqar Ali
- LA-9 Kotli 2 (Nakyal): Sardar Umair Naeem
- LA-10 Kotli 3 City: Fateeh Muhammad Kiyani
- LA-11 Kotli 4 (Sansa): Raja Muhammad Asif
- LA-12 Kotli 5 (Charhoi): Raja Muhammad Riyasat
- LA-13 Kotli 6 (Khoi Rata): Raja Ayaz Nisar
- LA-14 Bagh 1 (Dheerkot): Raja Faisal Azad
- LA-15 Bagh 2 (Wasti Bagh): Mushtaq Ahmad Minhas
- LA-16 Bagh 3 (Sharqi Bagh): Sardar Mir Akbar Khan
- LA-17 Bagh 4: Engineer Mohsin Aziz
- LA-18 Poonch 1 (Abbass Pur): pending
- LA-19 Poonch 2: Sardar Amir Altaf
- LA-20 Poonch 3 (Khai Galain): Sardar Abdur Rasheed
- LA-21 Poonch 4 (Rawalakot City): Sardar Tahir Anwar
- LA-22 Poonch 5 (Khorar): pending
- LA-23 Poonch 6 (Palndri): Dr Muhammad Najeeb Naqi
- LA-24 Poonch 7 (Balooch): Sardar Farooq Ahmed Tahir
- LA-25 and LA-26 Neelum 1 and 2 (Upper and Lower Neelum): Shah Ghulam Qadir
- LA-27 Muzaffarabad Kotla: Noreen Arif
- LA-28 Muzaffarabad 2 (Najrat): pending
- LA-29 Muzaffarabad 3 (City): Barrister Iftikhar Gillani
- LA-30 Muzaffarabad 4 (Khabra): Raja Saqib Majeed
- LA-31 Muzaffarabad 5 (Hadiyain Dupta): Dr Mustafa Bashir Abbassi
- LA-32 Muzaffarabad 6 (Shigar): Raja Muhammad Farooq Ahmad Khan
- LA-33 Muzaffarabad 7: Ch Muhammad Rasheed
For refugee constituencies:
- LA-34 Jamu 1 (Lahore and Karachi): Nasir Ahmad Dar
- LA-35 Jamu 2 (Gujranwala): Ch Muhammad Ismail
- LA-36 Jamu 3 (Sialkot): Ahsan Raza
- LA-37 Jamu 4 (Narowal): Maryam Javeed
- LA-38 Jamu 5 (Gujrat): Ch Muhammad Zeeshan
- LA-39 Jamu 6 (Rawalpindi and Attock): Raja Muhammad Saddique
- LA-40 Valley 1: pending
- LA-41 Valley 2 (Lahore): expectedly Ayesha
- LA-42 Valley 3 (Jhelum to Multan): Syed Shuakat Shah
- LA-43 Valley 4 (Rawalpindi): Muhammad Yaseen Loan
- LA-44 Valley 5 (Murree): Hafiz Ahmad Raza Qadri
- LA-45 Valley 6 (Peshawar Hazara): an ally might be given this seat
