Muzaffarabad/Islamabad/London: The Muzaffarabad High court on Saturday ordered the Election Commission to postpone election on the constituencies LA-30, LA36 and LA-41 .
The three constituencies are located in Karachi and Mansehra. According to the AJK High Court spokesman election on LA-30 and 36 had been postponed on the application filed by the Inspector General Sindh Police, requesting postponement due to security reasons. He added that the court directed the EC to postponed the election in Mansehra LA- 41 as it was receiving complaints of rigging.
At:17:20PST
MQM announces to boycott the AJK election
MQM leader Farooq Sattar while addressing a press conference after the meeting of party’s coordination committee simultaneously held in London and Karachi, harshly criticised the PPP government for what he said hatching conspiracy to keep the Karachi based party away from the election.
He said that the MQM was facing severe pressure from the government to withdraw from contesting AJK election.
Earlier:
A large number of MQM protesters gathered outside the Karachi Press Club and chanted slogans, demanding withdrawal of notification issued by the AJK Election Commission about the postponement of election in Karachi.
MQM leader Faisal Sabzwari claimed that the victory of MQM was certain on the constituencies. He alleged that Interior Minister Rehman Malik had asked the MQM to withdraw its candidate from one of the seats ” when we refused, they postponed election.
PPP Reaction:
PPP candidate for LA30 Jammu 1 (Karachi) Sardar Maqsooduz Zaman has said that a political party forces Kashmiris in Karachi to cast votes in its candidate’s favour, which creates a bad image of Pakistan across the world.
He said that a political party of Karachi which claims to represent 98 percent people of the country had collected identity cards from the Kashmiris residing in Karachi forcibly in order to rig elections.
Karachi polls postponed due to violence fears
Chief Election Commissioner Azad Kashmir Khwaja Muhamamad Saeed has said that the elections of two Karachi seats for AJK assembly have been postponed on the basis of reports received from Sindh Police.
He told The News Tribe that violence was feared in the areas where polling stations had been set up for the two Karachi seats of AJK Assembly. He said elections will be organized there as soon as law and order situation improves there.
He said all preparations have been made for the AJK elections. He said strict security measures have been taken to avoid any terrorist activity during polling.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has convened meeting of its coordination committee in Karachi and London in the wake of AJK Elcection Commission’s notification to postpone election in Karachi constituencies of LA-30 and 36.
The MQM also staged walk-out in Sindh Assembly in protest against the postponement of election.
Jamat e Islami Mir Pur announced on Friday to support a Muslim conference candidate in Mir Pur.
PML-N candidate say’s Sikandar Hayat hatched conspiracy:
Former Candidate of Pakistan Muslim league (N) from LA-03 constituency of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Arshad Mehmood Ghazi said Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan hatched conspiracy to cancel the Nawaz Sharif public meeting.
Rigging! :
Police claimed on Saturday to have arrested two persons in Bhambar and seized 220 fake CNIC from their custody.
Sources said that seized CNIC were being delivered to unknown people to cast illegal votes on Sunday.
Arrangements for June 26 elections finalized:
According to the Election Commission sources, all the arrangements for June 26 elections have been finalized. Total number of registered voters in Azad Kashmir is 339,926, the commission said.
At 14,351 polling stations, 15,000 policemen will be deployed while more than 1,000 polling stations have been termed sensitive.
The fight for Kotli seats:
LA 8-Kotli 1
This constituency will see a close fight among three candidates. Independent sources say that Malik Nawaz of Muslim Conference is favourite for this seat. He has won this seat five times. But his opposition by former prime minister Sardar Sikander Hayat may pose a threat to him. People’s Party’s Malik Yousuf and Nawaz League’s Malik Saleem are also strong candidates. It is pertinent to mention here that PPP withdrew Chaudhry Ilyas from this seat and fielded Malik Yousuf on insistence from Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry.
LA 9-Kotli 2
This is the ancestral seat of former prime minister Sikendar Hayat. His son Farooq Sikandar who has been member of Kashmir Council is contesting for this seat from PML-N. Former PPP candidate Sardar Khizer Hayat is contesting this time for Muslim Conference. Javed Badhanwi is PPP candidate. Analysts say the position of Farooq Sikandar is very strong and he will easily clinch this seat.
LA 10-Kotli 3
Raja Naseer Ahmad Khan of PML-N is a strong candidate for this seat. Ziaul Hameed of Muslim Conference and Bashir Pehlwan of PPP have also got considerable vote bank in the constituency. Political analysts say although Raja Naseer seems to be the strongest candidate but the fight could still be close.
LA 11-Kotli 4
This constituency has four major candidates: Raja Iqbal of PML-N, Mian Najeeb Hussain Advocate of Jamat-e-Islami, Chaudhry Yaseen of PPP and Raja Aftab Akram of Muslim Conference. Analysts say that the position of Chaudhry Yaseen has become stronger because PML-N has not given ticket to Raja Mansab Dar. There is no chance of an upset in this constituency unless any candidate withdraws, which seems unlikely now.
LA12-Kotli 5
Raja Nisar Ahmad Khan of PML-N has bright chances of getting this seat because Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry of PPP is secretly favouring him. Matloob Inqilabi of PPP is facing difficulties because he is not a resident of this constituency. He resides in the area covered by LA11. Jamat-Islami’s Habib Afaqi has already announced support for Raja Nisar Ahmad. Raja Fayyaz Khalid is the candidate of Muslim Conference for this seat.
AJK polls:The fight for Bagh seats
LA13-Bagh 1
This is the ancestral constituency of Sardar Ateeq. An intense fight is expected in this constituency because no candidate seems to have an upper hand so far. Sardar Ateeq of Muslim Conference faces Major Lateef Khaleeq of Jamat-e-Islami and Raja Asif Ali of PPP. Independent analysts say the real fight will be between Sardar Ateeq and JI’s Major Lateef.
LA14-Bagh 2
This constituency is likely to see a fierce battle between Abdur Rasheed Turabi, who is Amir Jamat-e-Islami Azad Kashmir and also has support of Muslim League, and Sardar Qamar Zaman of PPP.
Raja Yaseen of Muslim Conference and independent candidate Col (retd) Naseem are also in the race.
LA15-Bagh 3
Sardar Mir Akber Khan of Muslim Conference and Zia Qamar of PPP are the main candidates for this seat. Analysts say Mir Akber Khan has an upper hand.
Sheikh Maqsood is contesting as an independent candidate.
LA16-Bagh 4
Deen Muhammad Shedai of PML-N, Mumtaz Rathore of PPP and Chaudhry Muhammad Aziz of Muslim Conference are contesting this seat. The strong candidates are Rathore and Aziz.
PPP Candidate attacked in Muzaffarabad
Pakistan Peoploes’ Party candidate participating in the AJK election were injured in an attack on late Saturday hours before the election kick off in Azad Kashmir.
According to The News Tribe correspondent, unidentified armed assailant sprayed PPP candidate Zahid Akram’s vehicle with bullets when he was on his was way. As a result, he sustained severe bullet injuries while his driver reveived minor injuries.
The accused managed to flee from the scene in darkness.
The injured were rushed to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) for treatment.
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