Shafaqna Pakistan: Independent Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) lawmaker Sardar Sajid Iqbal, who secured a surprise victory over former AJK prime minister and Muslim Conference leader Sardar Atiq Ahmed Khan in the August 10 election, has joined the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), party leader and Special Adviser to the Prime Minister Rana Sanaullah announced on Monday.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Sanaullah said Iqbal had accepted the PML-N leadership’s invitation to join the party and support its efforts in the AJK Legislative Assembly.
“We requested Sajid Iqbal that, for the development of his constituency and AJK, he become part of our team and work shoulder to shoulder with us,” Sanaullah said, expressing gratitude to the lawmaker for accepting the offer in the interest of the region.
Sanaullah congratulated Iqbal and the people of LA-14, saying the newly elected lawmaker would work alongside PML-N candidate Faisal Azad, who had also accepted the election outcome. He said the two sides would now work together as a team for the development of the constituency.
Iqbal’s decision came days after his decisive victory in the LA-14 (Western Bagh/DhirKot) constituency, where he emerged as an independent candidate backed by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
According to unofficial results from 213 of the constituency’s 214 polling stations, Iqbal secured 40,702 votes, defeating Atiq Ahmed Khan, who received 19,542 votes, by more than 21,000 votes. PML-N’s Faisal Azad secured 3,000 votes, while PPP’s Mubashar Ejaz received 2,800.
The result was seen as a major upset, ending the decades-long political dominance of the Sardar Atiq Ahmed Khan family in the constituency. The family had held significant political influence in parts of AJK for more than seven decades.
Referring to ongoing protests in AJK, Sanaullah said the government viewed those taking part in demonstrations, as well as those responsible for creating law-and-order problems, as “brothers”.
“We consider those who are sitting in protest there, or those who have created a law-and-order situation, to be our brothers as well,” he said.
Sanaullah added that while some individuals might have different intentions or links with other forces, “99 per cent” of the protesters were people who wanted development in Kashmir and loved Pakistan.
PML-N eyes two-thirds majority
Sanaullah said the PML-N would have 33 seats following the elections and needed to win three of the seven remaining seats to reach 36, which he described as a two-thirds majority.
“Thirty-six is the two-thirds majority. After these elections, the PML-N will have 33 seats, and if we secure three of the seven seats where elections are going to be held, God willing, the PML-N will have a two-thirds majority,” he said.
Polling for the reserved seats will be held on August 24 and are not filled through direct public voting but are elected by newly elected members of the Legislative Assembly. Of the eight reserved seats, five are allocated to women, one to Ulema and Mashaikh, one to overseas residents of AJK, and one to technocrats and other professionals.
Sanaullah said seven general seats remained to be contested, although one had fallen vacant following the death of the winning candidate. He expressed hope that the PML-N would secure three additional seats.
The remaining constituencies, covering Rawalakot, Poonch and Sudhnoti, are expected to go to the polls later, potentially by August 20, subject to the prevailing political situation.
Source: Express Tribune
