AJK Election Phase 2 Results: Rigging Row Escalates After PPP Worker’s Death

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information spent Sunday accusing a major international news channel of bias. PPP spent it accusing PML-N of a killing. And by nightfall, both parties were back at the same table trying to keep their coalition in Islamabad from cracking over an election in Azad Kashmir.

Quick Answer: PML-N won 13 of 18 declared seats after Phase 2 of the AJK Election 2026 Results concluded on August 2, while PPP has filed rigging complaints across 11 constituencies and disputes PML-N’s account of a worker’s death. Two seats were postponed to August 4, and Phase 3 votes in Poonch on August 10.

Quick Facts: AJK Election Phase 2 Results at a Glance

Here’s Phase 2 reduced to its core facts, before the full detail below.

What Happened in AJK Election Phase 2?

Voting took place on Sunday, August 2, across eight of the nine Muzaffarabad Division constituencies and all 12 seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees settled in Pakistan. Polling for the refugee seats ran from 8am to 5pm; Muzaffarabad’s polling was extended by an hour to 6pm because of heavy turnout, according to Dawn’s coverage of the AJK election phase 2 Muzaffarabad vote.

Why Was Voting Delayed in Two Constituencies?

LA-27 (Muzaffarabad-I) was postponed entirely because of heavy rainfall, according to an AJK election commission phase 2 statement from Chief Election Commissioner Ghulam Mustafa Mughal. Separately, polling material could not reach 52 of 147 polling stations in LA-28 because a landslide blocked the route. Both the full LA-27 vote and the affected LA-28 stations are now rescheduled for August 4, meaning the final Phase 2 picture will not be complete until then.

Who Is Leading in the AJK Election Phase 2 Results So Far?

PML-N had won 13 of 18 declared constituencies, with PPP taking 5, according to Geo News’s count of unofficial and provisional results. Combined with Phase 1’s Mirpur results, PML-N now leads 22 to 9 overall, out of 45 total constituencies, with 14 seats still to be decided across the postponed Phase 2 stations and all of Phase 3.

Muzaffarabad Division Results

PPP’s strongest showing came in LA-26 Neelum Valley-2, where candidate Mian Abdul Waheed defeated PML-N’s Shah Ghulam Qadir 17,466 votes to 15,494, after votes from all 135 polling stations were counted. Elsewhere in the division, PML-N held its lead across most declared seats.

Refugee Seat Results

The early AJK election refugee seats results show PML-N running the table:

• LA-43 Valley-4 (Rawalpindi): Yasin Lone (PML-N), 1,276 votes, beat Javed Butt (PPP), 563 votes.
• LA-44 Valley-5 (Rawalpindi): Ahmed Raza Qadri (PML-N), 1,700 votes, beat Mehar Nisa (Muslim Conference), 650, with PPP’s Rashid Islam third.
• LA-39 Jammu-6 (Islamabad/Rawalpindi): PML-N’s Raja Mohammad Siddique was declared winner, per Federal Minister Hanif Abbasi, though counting in this larger constituency was still underway at the time, according to The Express Tribune.

These figures are unofficial and provisional. The final constituency-by-constituency Azad Kashmir election result today will only be confirmed once the AJK Election Commission issues its official notification, following the same pattern as Mirpur Division’s results in Phase 1.

Why Do Early Counts Keep Shifting?

Vote counting in AJK typically continues for several hours after polls close, with numbers updating as more polling stations report in; several outlets showed different seat tallies within hours of each other on results night alone. The Election Commission’s official notification, issued days later, has consistently differed slightly from same-night unofficial tallies in both Phase 1 and Phase 2, which is why early leads shouldn’t be treated as final results.

Why Is PPP Alleging Rigging in Phase 2?

PPP formally filed a letter with the Election Commission at 2pm on polling day, following up on 25 rigging allegations spanning 11 constituencies that it said had gone unanswered, according to a detailed complaint log published by Dawn. The complaints included:

• Ballot stuffing at a polling station in LA-30.
• PPP polling agents barred from observing the count in LA-32 and LA-34.
• Torn ballot papers reported in LA-25.

PPP leader Nayyar Bokhari told reporters that eight party workers had been injured during the election and described the situation as a “state of lawlessness.” PPP’s Nadeem Afzal Chan went further, warning that if similar issues occurred in Phase 3, the party might not be able to “ratify this election under any circumstance.” Federal Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf separately accused the Election Commission of ignoring PPP’s complaints entirely. PML-N’s Ahsan Iqbal pushed back, urging PPP to “reassess its political strategy” rather than allege rigging without evidence.

What Happened in the Worker Death Dispute?

PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on social media that a party worker, Mushtaq Shah, was killed in LA-31 (Muzaffarabad-V), and accused “miscreant elements of the PML-N” of also physically attacking the party’s regional president, Chaudhry Latif Akbar, at a polling station.

PML-N’s response, delivered by Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, was direct: she said Shah was 68 to 70 years old, was involved in a scuffle, and died of heart failure, not a bullet wound, adding that his family had declined a post-mortem, per Dawn’s account of the exchange. She called on PPP to stop “politics on bullets” and accused the party of trying to “sabotage a democratic process” with unverified claims.

Why Did Pakistan’s Government Criticize Al Jazeera’s Coverage?

In a separate dispute over Al Jazeera AJK election coverage, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting accused the channel of “selective reporting” from what it called “handpicked polling stations” in Muzaffarabad, going as far as to call it “yellow journalism.” The ministry alleged the channel used “carefully chosen timings and scripted statements from selected individuals” to delegitimize the election. Al Jazeera’s own reporting described strike-driven polling boycotts in parts of Muzaffarabad and included interviews with residents who said they had chosen not to vote.

This marks a notable escalation. Until now, the rigging dispute had stayed between PPP and PML-N domestically; this puts the federal government in direct conflict with an internationally watched news outlet over how the election is being portrayed abroad. Al Jazeera’s website reportedly became inaccessible in parts of Pakistan following the ministry’s statement, according to Daily Pakistan, adding a press-freedom dimension to the dispute.

How Did AJK Police Respond to the Casualty Claims?

AJK’s police chief, Inspector General Liaqat Ali Malik, pushed back on a related point in Al Jazeera’s reporting: “I have lost seven of my men. More than 200 of my officers have been injured in the last few weeks, but nobody wants to highlight the use of weapons by violent elements.” He rejected claims that his force bore responsibility for civilian deaths during the months of unrest preceding the vote.

Could the Rigging Dispute Break the Federal Coalition?

Possibly, though neither side has taken that step yet in this PPP PML-N rigging AJK election standoff. A senior PML-N leader told Dawn that party leadership had “taken serious note” of Bilawal’s increasingly sharp rhetoric, including his warning that PPP could reconsider its support for the federal government if the remaining phases were “manipulated” in PML-N’s favor. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reportedly discussed the AJK situation with his brother, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, at Jati Umra over the weekend, underlining how seriously the party is treating the coalition strain.

What Happens in AJK Election Phase 3?

Phase 3 votes on August 10, 2026, in Poonch (Rawalakot) Division, the last of the three phases under the revised schedule the AJK Election Commission announced on July 21. Combined with the still-unresolved rigging complaints from both Phase 1 and Phase 2, Phase 3 will decide not just the remaining seats but likely the credibility of the entire election process.

Why Are the 12 Refugee Seats Controversial?

The 12 refugee constituencies represent Kashmiri refugees settled across Pakistan: seven in Punjab, one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the rest split between Punjab, Islamabad, Sindh, and Balochistan in various combinations. Voting for these seats happened at designated polling stations in cities including Karachi, Rawalpindi, Quetta, and Gujrat rather than in Azad Kashmir itself. The banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) has campaigned for months to have these seats abolished, arguing they let political parties from mainland Pakistan influence AJK’s assembly, though the AJK Supreme Court has ruled that would require a constitutional amendment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is winning the AJK election phase 2 results?

PML-N had won 13 of 18 declared seats and PPP 5, based on unofficial counts, though official results are still pending confirmation from the AJK Election Commission.

Why is PPP alleging rigging in AJK election phase 2?

The AJK election rigging allegations phase 2 complaints cover 25 cases across 11 constituencies, alleging ballot stuffing, exclusion of its polling agents, and torn ballot papers, and PPP has demanded the Election Commission investigate before certifying results.

Did a PPP worker really die during the AJK election?

PPP says a worker named Mushtaq Shah was shot and killed in LA-31. PML-N disputes this, saying he died of heart failure during a scuffle and that his family declined a post-mortem examination.

When is the AJK election phase 3 date?

August 10, 2026, in Poonch (Rawalakot) Division, the final phase of the three-part 2026 AJK Legislative Assembly election.

Why did Pakistan’s government criticize Al Jazeera over the AJK election?

Pakistan’s Information Ministry accused Al Jazeera of selective reporting from handpicked polling stations, alleging it aimed to delegitimize the election, an escalation that took the dispute beyond domestic party politics.

Which two constituencies were postponed in phase 2?

LA-27 Muzaffarabad-I was postponed entirely due to rain, and parts of LA-28 were postponed due to a landslide blocking material transport. Both are rescheduled for August 4, 2026.

How many seats are needed to form the next AJK government?

27 out of the AJK Legislative Assembly’s 53 total seats.

What This Means for AJK’s Next Government

Phase 2 hasn’t resolved anything, it’s added to it. PML-N leads overall, but PPP’s rigging complaints, the disputed worker death, and the Al Jazeera dispute are all still unresolved. With Phase 3 on August 10 and both coalition partners watching closely, the final AJK Election 2026 Results may hinge as much on these disputes as on the vote count.

For the full Phase 1 breakdown, see Chokus’s AJK Election 2026 Results coverage, or follow Pakistan news coverage for updates as Phase 3 approaches.

Do you think the rigging disputes get resolved before Phase 3, or is this heading toward a contested result no matter what? Share your take in the comments.

Written by Huzaifa Khan, who covers Pakistan’s political and current affairs beat for Chokus. Last updated August 3, 2026. This is a developing story; figures and allegations here may change as the Election Commission issues further rulings.