MIRPUR: A major upset occurred in the AJK election in the LA-7 Bhimber 3 constituency, where former Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq suffered defeat as complete, unofficial, and unconfirmed results from all polling stations were announced, ARY News reported.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Chaudhry Tariq Farooq secured victory on the seat by obtaining 35,287 votes.
The former premier, who contested the election as an independent candidate, finished second with 24,997 votes.
Polling for the first phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Elections 2026 continued until 6:00 pm on the directives of the Chief Election Commissioner of AJK in all 13 constituencies of Mirpur Division.
The polling time was extended by one hour due to an unusually high voter turnout. Voting was originally scheduled to end at 5:00 pm.
A close contest is expected between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), and Jamaat-e-Islami in several constituencies of Mirpur, Bhimber and Kotli.
A total of 126 candidates, including nominees of various political parties and independent contenders, are contesting the elections in six constituencies. There are 1,401,439 registered voters across the district.
For the polling process, 2,454 polling stations were established across Mirpur Division, including 597 in Mirpur, 1,107 in Kotli and 608 in Bhimber.
Election authorities declared a large number of polling stations as sensitive or highly sensitive. In LA-8 Raj Mahal-I, 66 polling stations were categorised as highly sensitive, 44 as sensitive and 43 as normal. In LA-9 Kotli-II, 113 polling stations were declared highly sensitive and 63 sensitive, with none falling in the normal category.
Read More: AJK Elections 2026: Unofficial Results from Mirpur Division
Similarly, LA-11 Sehnsa Kotli-IV has 77 highly sensitive and 91 sensitive polling stations, while all 113 polling stations in LA-12 Charhoi Kotli-V were declared highly sensitive. In LA-13 Kotli-VI, 91 polling stations were categorised as highly sensitive, 51 as sensitive and 51 as normal. Additional security personnel were deployed at sensitive and highly sensitive polling stations to ensure peaceful polling.
A day before polling, the Election Commission suspended and arrested two presiding officers in Kotli after they allegedly failed to report to their assigned polling stations and instead went to a private residence. New presiding officers were appointed in their place.