MUZAFFARABAD: Senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Qamar Zaman Kaira has accused rivals of orchestrating a murderous attack on Azad Kashmir President Chaudhry Latif Akbar, while confirming reports of the martyrdom of a PPP worker during the ongoing Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections.
Addressing a press conference alongside Chaudhry Majeed in Muzaffarabad, Kaira said that since the elections began, the atmosphere has been tense and the public order situation deteriorating.
He noted that although PPP had serious reservations about the first phase of polling in Mirpur division, the party still participated in the second phase.
“Despite our warnings, a murderous attack was carried out on Chaudhry Latif Akbar in his constituency, and one of our workers has been martyred,” Kaira stated.
Kaira further alleged that election staff reached half the polling stations only by 11 or 11:30 am, and when they did arrive, PML‑N workers took them away and beat them up.
He claimed that polling equipment did not reach three union councils of LA‑28 Bazal Naqvi’s constituency, while the Chief Election Commissioner had already postponed polling in LA‑27 Muzaffarabad‑1 due to landslides and heavy rains.
The PPP leader questioned the credibility of the process, warning: “If this election becomes controversial in its holding, what will the new government do? At this time, we are talking about saving the state. What will be the reputation of a government formed through such elections? This election of Azad Kashmir has been snatched from us.”
His remarks come against the backdrop of recent violence in Mirpur and Rawlakot, where clashes, riots, and casualties among political workers have been reported but largely ignored by mainstream media.
The PPP, it may be added here, has consistently accused the Election Commission of failing to act against irregularities, while the Commission maintains that polling has been conducted transparently and under strict security arrangements.
