- Previous election phases faced widespread boycotts and alleged rigging.
Facing escalating civil unrest and explicit threats from local resistance leaders, authorities in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) have indefinitely postponed scheduled elections in seven out of eleven seats in the Poonch division. The decision comes after protest leader Sardar Aman Khan issued a chilling warning on 5th August, reciting a “Fatiha for the dead” (Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un) and cautioning Pakistani authorities against attempting to hold polls in the volatile region.
Addressing a mass rally at Chinar Chowk in Rawalakot that day Aman Khan warned that any attempt to conduct voting on August 10 in the Poonch and Pallandari would meet severe consequences, declaring that candidates attempting to run would not even find graves in PoJK.
PoK Election Commission Cites High-Risk Security Assessment
In an official statement citing severe security risks, the PoK Election Commission announced the indefinite postponement of voting across these seven key constituencies.
The Commission confirmed that the decision was taken following a critical security assessment report submitted by the PoK Home Secretary, alongside intense safety concerns raised directly by contesting political candidates.
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Revised Schedule, Breakdown of Postponed Constituencies
Under the revised schedule, voting on August 10 will now take place in only four constituencies across the Bagh and Haveli districts, specifically Bagh-1, Bagh-2, and Bagh-3 in Bagh district, along with Bagh-4 in Haveli district.
Meanwhile, the seven seats where voting has been postponed indefinitely include five in Poonch district Poonch & Sudhanoti-1 (Abbaspur), Poonch & Sudhanoti-2 (Hajira), Poonch & Sudhanoti-3 (Ali Sojal), Poonch & Sudhanoti-4 (Rawalakot), and Poonch & Sudhanoti-5 (Pachhiot) and two in Sudhanoti district Poonch & Sudhanoti-6 (Palandri) and Poonch & Sudhanoti-7 (Balouch).
Poonch, Sudhanoti Regions Remain Epicenter of Civil Unrest
Rawalakot, the headquarters of PoK’s Poonch division, has served as the epicentre of resistance since June 9, with two of Poonch district’s five seats falling directly within the city limits and the remaining three Pachhiot, Abbaspur, and Hajira acting as major rebel strongholds.
Similarly, Sardar Aman Khan hails from Sudhanoti district, where daily protests continue to flare up in Palandri and Balouch. Aware that rebels were prepared to take extreme measures to block the polls, the Pakistani establishment yielded to Khan’s ultimatum and suspended voting across all seven seats.
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Rigging, Rejecting “Fraud” Assembly Elections
The third phase of polling in PoK has largely been reduced to a mere formality. Following widespread public boycotts and blatant ballot rigging during the first two phases, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), was handed 24 out of the 34 seats contested so far.
This easily secured the 23-seat threshold required for a simple majority in the 45-member PoK Legislative Assembly. Visuals from both prior phases showed empty polling centers due to the protest boycott, contrasted with small groups systematically stamping ballot papers unchecked. Consequently, key movement leaders Sardar Aman Khan and Umar Nazeer have declared the entire process a “fraud election,” with Khan exposing that seat-by-seat results across PoK were directly dictated by the ISI’s PoJK sector commander, Brigadier Faiq Ayub.
