MUZAFFARABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari warned on Thursday that AJK poll rigging would start the federal government’s “countdown.”
Addressing a rally ahead of the second phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections, Bilawal said voters must exercise their public mandate at the ballot, not the bullet.
“If you steal this election, I guarantee that the countdown for your federal government will begin,” Bilawal said
The warning intensified a dispute between the PPP and its federal coalition ally, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. The parties exchanged rigging accusations after polling in Mirpur Division on July 27.
The AJK Election Commission notified the PML-N as the winner of nine of the division’s 13 seats. The PPP secured the remaining four seats.
🚨 Those who are the product of generation after generation of rigging think that we will let them rig 🇵🇰 Kashmir.
– Bilawal Bhutto. pic.twitter.com/xCe2pquzP4
— Asad Nasir (@asadnasir2000) July 29, 2026Bilawal demanded transparency over complaints from the first phase. He said election authorities should disclose polling records and vote counts if the public mandate had not been manipulated.
Polling in Muzaffarabad Division will take place on August 2, while Poonch Division will vote on August 10, according to the election schedule.
Read: PML-N AJK Election Lead Wins Shehbaz Sharif’s Praise
Bilawal said the PPP would convene a constitutional convention after the elections. Government and opposition representatives, Kashmiri refugees, lawyers and civil society members would attend it.
He also called for genuine representation of Kashmiri refugees and said Kashmiris should decide the region’s future through their elected assembly. He reiterated his demand for a truth commission to address protests and unrest across AJK.
