MUZAFFARABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) strengthened its position in the AJK Legislative Assembly on Monday after winning six of eight reserved seats, with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) taking the remaining two. The reserved-seat elections complete another stage in the composition of the AJK Assembly following the recently concluded three-phase general elections.
The eight reserved seats comprise five for women, one for a technocrat, one for Ulema and Mashaikh, and one for an overseas Kashmiri representative. The PML-N won three of the five reserved seats for women, while also securing the seats for technocrats, Ulema and Mashaikh, and overseas Kashmiris.
PML-N candidates Seharish Qamar, Maryam Zaman and Maryam Idrees won the three women's reserved seats, while PPP candidates Farzana Yaqub and Zobia Khurshid secured the remaining two. Zobia Khurshid and Rifat Abid both secured five votes in the women's category, after which Khurshid won the seat through a draw.
PML-N candidate Pir Mazhar Saeed Shah won the reserved seat for Ulema and Mashaikh, while Barrister Iftikhar Gillani secured the technocrat seat. Abdul Rehman Arain was declared successful on the reserved seat for overseas Kashmiris. Following the results, the PML-N's seats in the AJK Assembly rose to 31, while the number of PPP lawmakers reached 14.