Overview
- The Election Commission announced on Friday that polling scheduled for August 10 in seven constituencies of Poonch and Sudhnoti has been postponed for security reasons while four seats in Bagh and Haveli will vote as planned.
- The commission said the decision followed a report from the AJK home secretary and requests from local leaders and candidates, and it will publish revised dates after further security and administrative reviews.
- Provisional results from the first two phases leave the Pakistan Muslim League‑Nawaz with 24 seats and claiming it can form the next AJK government, while the Pakistan Peoples Party alleges the phased voting has enabled rigging and rejects those claims.
- Protests by the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee over 12 refugee seats have produced violent clashes, most notably in Rawalakot, with authorities and protesters offering sharply different accounts of injuries and fatalities.
- The postponement could delay final formation of the assembly and heighten political tensions in Islamabad and AJK, and international actors including the US have urged restraint and steps to ensure free and fair voting.