PTI 'forward bloc' suffers setback in AJK as LA-15 election declared void

AZAD KASHMIR (Muhammad Aslam Mir) – The ‘forward bloc’, consisting of defectors from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, suffered a setback when the Election Tribunal declared the election of the LA-15 (East Bagh) constituency null and void.

Due to the incomplete constitutional formation of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Election Commission, the implementation of the Election Tribunal’s decision appears challenging.

Sardar Qamar-ul-Zaman, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate and petitioner before the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Election Tribunal, challenged the 2021 election results of forward bloc member and Minister of Agriculture Mir Akbar, presenting evidence of rigging, irregularities, and constitutional violations.

After hearing the case on Tuesday, the Election Tribunal issued a brief ruling confirming rigging and invalidating the election.

The tribunal further stated that due to proven rigging in the 2021 elections, fresh elections will be held in the LA-15 (East Bagh) constituency.

During the hearing, clear proof and evidence of rigging were presented, leading the tribunal to declare the 2021 election null and void and order new elections in the district Bagh constituency.

The tribunal’s decision stated that the elections were neither transparent nor impartial, and legal requirements were not fulfilled, which justified declaring the election invalid. Following this ruling, Minister of Agriculture Sardar Mir Akbar will lose his membership in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.

On the other hand, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Election Commission is not yet constitutionally complete, creating difficulties in implementing the Election Tribunal’s decision.

If the current Election Commission, which is functioning with only one member instead of the required three, manages to execute the Tribunal’s order, by law, a by-election must be held within 90 days—that is, by October 22, 2025.

Sardar Mir Akbar has announced that he will file an appeal against the Election Tribunal’s decision in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Supreme Court. He believes the Supreme Court will deliver justice, overturn the tribunal’s ruling, and validate his election.

In the 2021 elections, Sardar Mir Akbar won from Bagh on the PTI ticket by a narrow margin of a few hundred votes against PPP candidate Sardar Qamar-ul-Zaman Khan.

After PTI split in Azad Jammu and Kashmir in 2023, Sardar Mir Akbar joined the forward bloc, consisted of PTI’s defecting members of the Legislative Assembly, led by Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq.