Azma Bokhari says PML-N's AJK victory reflects public confidence, rejects PPP rigging claims

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari on Monday attributed the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) victory in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections to the party's "service-oriented and developmental politics", saying the results reflected public confidence in its governance.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Azma said the outcome was expected and demonstrated that voters had endorsed the party's performance. "Yesterday's election results were not even shocking," she said. "The people have voted for those who engaged in service-oriented and developmental politics."

She claimed that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz's governance had influenced voters in AJK, saying she had seen numerous social media videos in which residents credited Punjab government initiatives. "I am well aware that the people of AJK are impressed with the performance of Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz and their vote was influenced by it," she asserted.

Claiming that women participated in large numbers, the minister said female voters turned out actively in both the Muzaffarabad constituencies and on reserved seats.

Highlighting the election outcome, Azma said the PML-N secured 107,258 votes, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) managed 20,533 votes.

She also listed the party's victory margins across several constituencies, including 18,000 votes in LA-45, 15,000 in LA-36, 7,000 in LA-39, 6,000 each in LA-37, LA-30 and LA-25, 4,000 in LA-38, 2,000 in LA-32, 1,500 in LA-44, 1,300 in LA-31, 1,000 each in LA-42 and LA-43, and 600 in LA-34.

Responding to the PPP's allegations of electoral irregularities, Azma said the opposition had yet to provide evidence or formally seek recounts before the Election Commission despite making public accusations.

She acknowledged that the PPP had lodged 25 complaints with the Election Commission regarding alleged rigging and violations in 11 constituencies, but maintained that the allegations were politically motivated.

She also rejected claims that the PML-N had manipulated the election results. "PML-N did not need to manipulate the results. If we had intended to rig the polls, the victory margins would have been much larger," she said.

Rejecting allegations that a PPP lawmaker had sustained bullet injuries during polling, Azma said there was neither a police report nor medical evidence to support the claim. Citing PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah, she said subsequent accounts suggested the legislator had instead been injured during a stone-pelting incident.

She also disputed claims that PPP polling agents had been expelled from polling stations, alleging that a PPP MPA, accompanied by armed supporters, Sindh Police personnel and official vehicles, entered three polling stations before being stopped at a fourth. During the press conference, she displayed a video that she said showed several vehicles accompanying the legislator.

In contrast, Azma said CM Maryam had instructed all PML-N lawmakers not to enter polling stations on election day and had directed them to remain at party camps established outside polling premises.

The minister also criticised the PPP's election campaign, arguing that despite governing Sindh for nearly two decades, the party had failed to convince voters. She said Punjab government's initiatives—including the Green Bus service, the Apni Chhat Apna Ghar housing scheme, the Suthra Punjab programme, new schools, and scholarship and laptop schemes for students—had resonated with the electorate.

Addressing PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Azma said she wanted to offer him "a safe exit", alleging that party leaders were misleading him to conceal their own shortcomings. "He is oblivious to the truth," she said.

She also called on the PPP to resign from its federal and provincial government positions if it continued to criticise what it describes as the "Form 47" government, and urged the party's leadership, particularly its women leaders, to avoid personal attacks and instead focus on what she described as the PML-N's electoral mandate.

A day earlier, Bilawal alleged widespread irregularities during the second phase of the AJK elections, saying the Election Commission had failed to act on the party's complaints from the first phase.

In a post on X, he said that despite an admission by the "rigging party", the Election Commission had taken no action on the PPP's earlier complaints. "Had they done so, the credibility of today's phase-two election would have been restored," he added.