A sharp war of words has broken out between ruling coalition partners Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz over the recent Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections. While the PML-N claimed victory, the PPP has openly questioned the transparency of the process and alleged interference in the polls.
Responding to statements made by PML-N President Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, PPP Information Secretary Nadeem Afzal Chan said his party would only accept results from genuinely free and fair elections. In a strongly worded statement, he criticised the PML-N leadership for celebrating the outcome of polls that he claimed were filled with local controversies and alleged interference.
Mr Chan argued that holding elections in different phases across AJK created room for manipulation. Addressing Nawaz Sharif directly, he claimed the AJK elections had been conducted in a manner similar to previous polls in Punjab, suggesting administrative interference. He also pointed out that a major political party had boycotted the process and that questions remained over the law-and-order situation during voting.
The PPP, he said, had already raised concerns about the alleged use of federal machinery and government resources during various stages of the elections. “The PPP would accept its defeat if the elections were genuinely free and fair,” Mr Chan stated. He urged Nawaz Sharif, whom he described as an elder political figure, to seek the real views of people across Kashmir, alleging that results had been prepared “according to choice.”
While acknowledging that Maryam Nawaz was working hard as Punjab chief minister, Mr Chan clarified that his criticism targeted the PML-N’s overall political and governance record rather than individuals. He noted that Nawaz Sharif and the PML-N had remained in or close to power for much of the period since 1985, excluding the Musharraf era and the three years of the PTI government.
Mr Chan also admitted weaknesses in the PPP’s own communication strategy, saying the party had failed to effectively publicise its achievements. He challenged the PML-N to compare its record with the PPP’s on privatisation, agriculture, infrastructure, energy and political victimisation. Urging greater attention to smaller provinces, he said “Pakistan is not just Lahore” and called on the PML-N leadership to focus more on Sindh and Balochistan.
