ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday said that "peaceful and transparent" elections were held in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, with all the mainstream political parties participating fully.
During the media press briefing, Information Minister Tarar said, “In Rawalakot alone, a total of 600,000 votes were cast, making it a massive success.”
“The people of Kashmir responded to the call of the election. The political parties held public rallies and conducted their election campaigns as usual,” he added.
The opening phase of the election covered 13 constituencies across Mirpur Division, comprising the districts of Mirpur, Bhimber and Kotli. Polling, which was originally scheduled to end at 5pm, was extended by one hour until 6pm by the Chief Election Commissioner to facilitate voters.
Referring to the press conference held earlier by senior AJK officials, the information minister said “a violent group that does not accept progress, development and Kashmir’s unbreakable relationship with Pakistan resorted to violence and tried to sabotage peace.”
He added that arms had also been recovered from the violent group, adding that “they are militants working on a foreign agenda and receiving Indian funding.”
Tarar reiterated that the government supported the stance of the AJK government.
The Prime Minister of AJK Faisal Mumtaz Rathore said in a post on X, “The rioters not only have sophisticated weapons, they have the advantage of access to all vantage points from where they take aim at security forces whose only objective has been to contain the situation and prevent escalation. The march to Muzaffarabad during elections was a conniving plan to trigger mass unrest.”
“I appeal to the people to stay away from these agitators who have a proven record of using civilians as human shield and create a win-win situation for themselves once security personnel act in self defense,” he added.