PML-N only six seats short of forming AJK govt, says Sanaullah ahead of third phase

• PML-N will win all four seats on August 10, hopes Sanaullah.
• PML-N will form AJK govt with two-thirds majority: Muqam.
• Election campaign will end tonight: Election Commission.

Adviser to Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Saturday said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) requires just six more seats to secure a two-thirds majority in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

The PML-N leader made the remarks while addressing a public rally in Bagh district of AJK ahead of the third phase of elections in Poonch division. Poonch Division comprises 11 constituencies — three in Bagh, one in Haveli, five in Poonch and two in Sudhnoti district.

Under the revised schedule issued by the AJK Election Commission, polls will be held in Bagh and Haveli districts on August 10. The electoral watchdog said it will announce the new polling dates for Poonch and Sudhnoti after reviewing the situation.

The PML-N has emerged as the dominant party in AJK following the first two phases of the region’s elections. The PML-N has won 24 seats, while the PPP has secured 10.

Addressing the public rally today, Sanaullah hoped that the PML-N will win all four seats on August 10.

Taking a dig at Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who has been repeatedly saying over the past couple of days that the countdown has begun for the PML-N government in the Centre, Sanaullah said: “Those counting down will themselves be straightened out, and so will their count.”

Speaking on the occasion, Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Amir Muqam reiterated that the PML-N will form a government in the AJK with a two-thirds majority.

Meanwhile, the AJK chief election commissioner said today that once the issue of the sit-ins is resolved, they would be in a position to announce the polling date for Rawalakot within the next seven days.

The election campaign for the third phase of the AJK Legislative Assembly elections ends at midnight tonight, he added.

A day earlier, Bilawal said that the PML-N was mistaken in believing it would form the government in AJK, saying: “In fact, their [PML-N’s] government in Islamabad is also at risk.”

He reiterated that the countdown for the PML-N government has started, adding that “it was started by their own people.”

He said: “A certain section of the PML-N wants Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to fight with his allies,” adding that the real fight is something else.

Referring to alleged rifts within the Sharif family, the PPP leader said: “The real fight is between Islamabad and Lahore. This is the family’s own problem.”