File photo. Aamir Qureshi—AFP
Imran Khan-led party secures 25 out of 45 seats according to unofficial and unconfirmed results
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday secured sufficient seats for the Legislative Assembly of Pakistan-administered Kashmir to form the next government of the disputed territory.
According to unofficial and unconfirmed tallies of 43 of the 45 seats contested, PTI won 25 constituencies—nine of them from Pakistan—while the Pakistan Peoples Party won in 10 and PMLN in 6. The Jammu and Kashmir People’s Party and the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference also won one seat each.
The PTI’s victory grants it a simple majority, which is sufficient to form the next government in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Reacting to the results, PMLN Vice-President Maryam Nawaz said she would not “accept them,” adding that she had never accepted the results of the 2018 general elections through which the PTI had come into power either. “The party will soon decide on how to respond to this shameless rigging,” she added.
Special Assistant to the P.M. on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill responded by saying Maryam’s acceptance or denial of the results did not make any difference. “You also did not accept ownership of any property. Then you had to. Now you will have no choice but to accept this too, Begum Safdar sahiba,” he said.
Among the winners was PTI’s regional chief Barrister Sultan Mahmood, as well as former prime minister Raja Farooq Haider of the PMLN.