PoK Elections Phase 2: PML-N Bags 14 Seats Amid JAAC Boycott

Pakistan's ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) has emerged as the biggest winner in the second phase of the so called legislative assembly elections in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), securing 14 seats amid widespread allegations of rigging, protests, violence and growing scrutiny over the role of Pakistan's military. India has rejected the elections as a "cosmetic electoral exercise", reiterating that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including areas under Pakistan's illegal and forcible occupation, are integral and inalienable parts of India. New Delhi said the polls were an attempt to legitimize Pakistan's illegal occupation and conceal alleged human rights violations in the region.

The second phase of polling, held on August 2, covered nine constituencies in Muzaffarabad division and 12 refugee seats. Polling personnel travelled in military escorted convoys as thousands of police and paramilitary personnel guarded voting centres. Despite the heavy security presence, supporters of the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) blocked roads in several areas, including Gujra, Tariqabad and Chehla Bandi, leaving burnt vehicles, rock strewn roads and deserted polling stations.

JAAC, which has led protests across PoK for nearly two months, urged residents to boycott the elections, calling them " election fraud at gunpoint " and alleging the process was being conducted under military intimidation. The group claims the 12 refugee seats are manipulated by Pakistan's establishment to influence the selection of the region's prime minister and has demanded their abolition along with broader constitutional reforms, greater political rights and a larger share of hydropower revenues. Opposition parties have also questioned the military's role in the electoral process, alleging undue interference.

Adding to the controversy, reports said Pakistan blocked access to Al Jazeera's website and several other digital news platforms after they extensively covered the protests, crackdown and election related unrest in PoK. Media rights groups said the move restricted independent reporting at a time when internet shutdowns, communication curbs and arrests had already limited the flow of information from the region.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari alleged that PoK President Chaudhry Latif Akbar was attacked and a party worker was shot dead, accusing the PML-N of orchestrating violence and large scale election rigging. Former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said evidence of electoral malpractice had been ignored by authorities and warned the results would not be accepted without transparency. Former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) also boycotted the polls, alleging there was little prospect of a free and fair election. The third and final phase of polling is scheduled for August 10 in Poonch division.