Islamabad: Voting for seven of the 11 seats in the third phase of polls in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir that were scheduled for August 10 have been postponed for an indefinite period due to “concerns over the law-and-order situation,” it was announced on Friday.
After the first and second phases of the polls, which were marred by violent protests, were held on July 27 and August 2 respectively, voting was scheduled on Monday for 11 constituencies of Poonch Division in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
There are a total of 45 seats on which polls are being held for the ‘Kashmir Legislative Assembly’.
“The electoral process in seven constituencies of Poonch district and Sudhnoti’s Pallandri will not be held on August 10,” the PoK’s Election Commission said in a statement.
However, polling for three constituencies of Bagh district and one in Haveli will be held on August 10 as per schedule, it said.
“We have received a report from the home secretary there that shows concerns over the law-and-order situation in some areas of Poonch district and Pallandri district. The next date for the polls on these constituencies will be announced later,” the statement said.
The Election Commission (EC) further said that it received requests from some political personalities and candidates hailing from these districts requesting to postpone the elections in Poonch district and Pallandri district considering the current situation.
“We will announce the new polling dates and a revised election schedule for Poonch and Pallandri after reviewing the situation and considering all relevant matters,” the EC statement said.
India maintains that the entire Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are its integral and inalienable parts. New Delhi also asserts that Pakistan has been in “illegal and forcible occupation” of parts of these Union Territories.
India on Tuesday described the so-called local body elections in PoK a “complete farce,” asserting that such “hollow” exercises cannot hide the ground reality in the region.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) strongly criticised Pakistan’s crackdown on protesters in PoK and said the international community should see through the “flimsy veneer” of Islamabad’s “hypocritical lecturing” on human rights.
“This so-called local election in PoK is a complete farce. The real happening is that of public protests and wanton killings by Pakistani forces. Such hollow exercises cannot hide reality,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a regular media briefing.
There are 53 seats in the so-called PoK legislative assembly – 45 are directly elected, while eight are reserved for women, technocrats and clerics.
The ruling party at the federal level, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won both the first two phases, emerging as the single largest party to form the next government in PoK.
The second phase was held on August 2 amid violence and rigging allegations. One person was killed, and several were injured in the violence.
The August 2 voting included among others, the 12 refugee seats that are at the centre of a controversy.
The PML-N swept the second phase, winning 16 seats while the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) won the remaining five seats.
In the first phase on July 27, the PML-N won nine out of 13 seats, while the PPP won four.
The two phases taken together, PML-N has already won 24 seats.
The banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) has been holding a series of protests in PoK since June over the contentious 12 refugee seats. It has alleged that the establishment manoeuvres these seats to install a prime minister, to lead the so-called government in PoK, of its choosing.
According to the JAAC, over 40 people were killed during the first phase of polls held on July 27. Besides, it claims that some 400 protesters have been killed since the first week of June.
The Shehbaz Sharif government dismissed the JAAC claim saying the figure is “overly exaggerated.”
“The number of the people killed in protests is in two digits. Moreover, security personnel have also lost their lives,” PM’s adviser Rana Sanaullah said in a TV statement recently.
