ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Monday claimed that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had secured a two-thirds majority in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly following the completion of three phases of general elections.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Rana Sanaullah said the PML-N had won 25 seats and would be in a position to form the AJK government with a two-thirds majority after elections for reserved seats.
The AJK Legislative Assembly comprises 53 seats, including seats reserved for women and other categories. The adviser said the party’s electoral performance reflected a clear mandate from the people of AJK.
He expressed confidence that the incoming PML-N government would deliver on its commitments for the development of the region.
“The PML-N has secured a two-thirds majority in the 53-member assembly,” Rana Sanaullah said, adding that the party would focus on improving governance and addressing the region’s pressing issues.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a coalition partner of the PML-N at the Centre, emerged as the second-largest party with 11 seats.
Rana Sanaullah also welcomed the decision of Sajid Iqbal, who was elected from LA-14 Bagh-I on the Awami Dast-o-Baazo platform, to join the PML-N team.
He thanked Iqbal for supporting the party and said he would work with the PML-N for the development and betterment of Azad Kashmir.
The adviser acknowledged that polling could not take place in six constituencies because of the prevailing law and order situation.
He nevertheless said the elections had been held successfully in the circumstances and pledged that the PML-N would honour the mandate given by voters.
Turning to the ongoing political and public unrest in AJK, Rana Sanaullah said those taking part in the sit-in were “our brothers”, while suggesting that a small proportion of protesters could be linked to elements seeking to create unrest.
He stressed that peaceful protest was a fundamental right of citizens and said maintaining law and order would remain the government’s top priority.
“The people of Kashmir are as much owners of Pakistan as Pakistanis,” he said, emphasising the government’s commitment to the welfare and development of the territory.
Rana Sanaullah also criticised the role of the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), which the AJK government declared a proscribed organisation on June 5 under the Anti-Terrorism Act, for its involvement in terrorism.
The ban came shortly before the committee’s planned June 9 armed protest, which included a demand for the abolition of 12 AJK Assembly seats reserved for refugees from Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir who migrated to Pakistan after 1947.
According to Rana Sanaullah, JAAC had wanted the AJK elections to be postponed. He argued that delaying the polls could have further aggravated the situation in the region.
The adviser thanked the people of AJK for reposing confidence in the PML-N and reiterated that the party would work towards fulfilling its promises, with particular emphasis on peace, stability, development and improved governance.
