The withdrawal phase for candidates contesting the reserved seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly has concluded, leaving six candidates in the race for five seats reserved for women. The polling on the reserved seats will be held tomorrow, Monday, August 24.
According to details, polling for the reserved seats for women, technocrats and professionals, and Ulema and Mashaikh will be held on Monday at the AJK Assembly Hall in Muzaffarabad. Polling will begin at 10 am and continue until 1 pm.
According to sources, seven candidates had initially submitted their nomination papers for the women’s reserved seats. However, Shaheen Kausar Dar withdrew her nomination papers. The remaining candidates contesting the women’s reserved seats are Riffat Abid, Zubia Khurshid, Sehrish Qamar, Farzana Yaqoob, Maryam Idrees, and Maryam Zaman.
Meanwhile, two candidates are contesting the reserved seat for Ulema and Mashaikh: Hafiz Tariq Mahmood and Muhammad Mazhar Saeed. Syed Iftikhar Gilani and Sahibzada Zulfiqar Ali are competing for the reserved seat for technocrats and professionals. The election for the reserved seat for AJK citizens residing abroad has already been completed unopposed.
On the other hand, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif held an important meeting with PML-N President and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif at Jati Umra, where the two leaders discussed the country’s political situation, including government formation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and the selection of a new prime minister. According to media reports, the meeting lasted around two hours and covered the overall political situation in the country, government affairs and the future political course of action.
The two leaders also reviewed the prevailing political situation in AJK and discussed various matters related to the formation of a new government. They also considered the names of potential candidates for the position of Azad Kashmir’s prime minister. PML-N’s top leadership has reached a decision on the name of the new prime minister of Azad Kashmir. However, the final name has not yet been officially announced.