AJK Election: Bilawal Rebuts Nawaz as Mirpur Heads to Polls
Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has responded to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s campaign remarks as Azad Jammu and Kashmir prepares for the first phase of its legislative elections. The exchange intensified political competition on Sunday night, hours before voters in Mirpur division were due to cast their ballots across 13 constituencies.
Bilawal issued his response through a video message shared on social media after Nawaz compared Kashmir with Kashmore and Mirpur with Mirpurkhas during a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz rally. The PPP leader argued that residents of all four areas shared the same determination to protect their political rights and decide their future without outside interference.
He maintained that people in AJK would not surrender their right to choose their representatives or allow decisions about governance and local resources to be imposed from another city or province. Bilawal also predicted that voters would reject the PML-N in the coming contest and support PPP candidates when polling began in Mirpur division on Monday.
The PPP chairman also challenged the PML-N’s description of recently delivered electric buses and mobile healthcare facilities as gifts for AJK residents. He said development schemes financed through public funds should be treated as citizens’ entitlements rather than personal favours offered by political leaders during an election campaign.
Bilawal highlighted projects and budgetary measures that he attributed to the PPP administration in the region, including additional teaching positions, road development, information technology centres, employment initiatives and a cardiac hospital. He also claimed credit for securing federal funding connected with the proposed Mirpur airport and urged supporters to participate in large numbers on polling day.
The political dispute comes amid allegations and counter-allegations over the fairness of the campaign. Rival parties have questioned development announcements made shortly before voting, while election authorities have warned candidates and officials against violating the electoral code or using state resources to influence the outcome.
AJK Chief Election Commissioner Ghulam Mustafa Mughal said preparations had been completed for the first phase and encouraged registered voters to exercise their democratic right. Election Commission figures show that 1,400,437 people, including 724,811 men and 675,626 women, are eligible to vote for 288 candidates competing in Mirpur division.
Polling will take place at 2,316 stations, with 1,241 classified as highly sensitive, 724 as sensitive and 351 as normal. Authorities have organised monitoring through 13 zones and 205 sectors, while 18,560 police and other law-enforcement personnel have been assigned duties under a three-layer security arrangement supported by Rangers, the Federal Constabulary and the Pakistan Army.
Officials said approximately 2,100 army personnel and Quick Response Force teams would remain available to deal with emergencies. Election material had already been delivered, staff deployed and security placed on high alert, while authorities warned that attempts to obstruct voting, spread misleading information or disturb public order would lead to legal action.
The outcome of the Mirpur phase will provide an early indication of voter sentiment before polling proceeds in other parts of AJK. With the PPP and PML-N leadership directly involved in the campaign, the contest is expected to influence regional governance, relations with the federal government and the wider debate over political authority, development priorities and constitutional rights in the territory.