ISLAMABAD: After winning elections in strategically-located Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has started preparations for polls in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) seven months before the expiry of the term of the present Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government in the region.

The party has announced that it has decided in principle to contest upcoming elections in AJK without making electoral alliance with any political party.

The party made the announcement after a meeting of president of the PTI’s AJK chapter and former prime minister Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry with PTI’s chief organiser Saifullah Khan Nyazee and senior vice president Arshad Daad here on Wednesday.

According to the PTI’s Central Media Department, “the prevailing political situation in AJK, organisational issues and the strategy for forthcoming elections in the region” were discussed in detail during the meeting.

Rules out electoral alliance with any political party

The PTI’s chief organiser termed the party’s victory in the recently held rigging-allegation tainted elections in Gilgit-Baltistan “historic” and said the PTI had become a strong and popular political entity in AJK.

Mr Nyazee said the party was united under the leadership of Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry in AJK and it was ready to flex its muscles in upcoming elections in the region.

“The party will launch a comprehensive strategy, followed by a campaign to win polls in AJK by a landslide majority,” he said.

Mr Nyazee said a high-powered parliamentary board would soon be constituted to find and field the most suitable and popular candidates for AJK elections.

Mr Nyazee had previously stated that after fielding strong candidates and winning elections, the PTI aimed to emerge as the sole majority party in the elections and form a strong government in AJK which would be responsible for the welfare and development of the people of Kashmir and become their voice in the world ultimately.

Much before the elections in GB, the PTI had made a similar announcement that it would not enter into alliance with any political party, but later it entered into a seat adjustment agreement with the Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) in the region.

The decision also caused some fissures within the party ranks and some of the aspirants of PTI tickets even contested elections independently and most of them even won their seats.

The PTI is set to form its government in GB with the support of the independents which emerged as the second largest group in the 33-member GB Legislative Assembly after the PTI.

A PTI spokesman, when contacted, admitted that the party had previously decided to have a solo flight in the GB polls, but said that after seeing the MWM’s political strength in the region, the leadership decided to make an alliance with it.

In reply to a question, he did not rule out an option to hold talks with some political groups or individuals before elections in AJK, but made it clear that the party would not make any alliance with the parties at present running a campaign against the government from the platform of the Pakistan Democratic Movement.

Like GB, he said, a large number of people and political personalities from all over AJK wanted to join the PTI, but the leadership would only welcome “competent, credible, capable and well-respected political figures” to the party and it would field strong candidates in the elections after evaluation from a powerful parliamentary board.

A source in the PTI said the party leadership was expecting to win elections in AJK as per the past tradition, saying history showed that the party leading the federal government always won elections in the two regions with special status. He said the party expected that like general elections in Pakistan in 2018, a number of ‘electables’ were expected to join the party before the AJK polls.

The present AJK Legislative Assembly will complete its five-year term in July next year.

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2020