August 18, 2026
The prime minister's political adviser says the PML-N has secured a two-thirds majority in the 53-member assembly with 25 seats, and thanked Awami Dast-o-Bazu's Sajid Iqbal — who beat a former prime minister in Dhirkot — for joining the party.
August 17, 2026
The PML-N president is personally interviewing candidates for the eight reserved seats to be filled on August 24, while the PPP demands transparent results and accuses its coalition partner of misusing state resources.
August 11, 2026
The prime minister told the federal cabinet the trilateral agreement is aimed at promoting peace and prosperity rather than aggression, describing it as a continuation of existing cooperation and framing the protection of the Haramain Sharifain as a Pakistani responsibility.
August 2, 2026
PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari says he has received the Joint Awami Action Committee's response to his letter proposing a commission, along with the group's own proposal. He called every loss of life a national tragedy and said his priority was ending the crisis and restoring normal life.
July 29, 2026
Law enforcement agencies are continuing operations against armed groups in Rawalakot, where the AJK police spokesperson says attackers have taken positions in buildings across the city. The clashes involve supporters of the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee, and Rawalakot sits in the division that votes last, on August 10.
July 24, 2026
Azad Jammu and Kashmir goes to the polls on July 27 for Phase 1 in Mirpur division, but the election arrives under extraordinary strain: approximately 30 people have died in pre-election unrest since June, the Joint Awami Action Committee has been banned under anti-terrorism law and its leader jailed, PTI is boycotting, and internet shutdowns continue across the territory. PPP's Bilawal Bhutto holds his final Muzaffarabad jalsa today. Whether a credible mandate can emerge from this environment is the central question before the first ballot is cast.
July 23, 2026
PML-N President Nawaz Sharif formally launched his party's Azad Jammu and Kashmir election campaign in Muzaffarabad on July 22–23, pledging a Muzaffarabad motorway, ten electric air-conditioned buses from Punjab and fifteen "Hospitals on Wheels" across AJK if PML-N wins the July 27 first phase. Nawaz declared "AJK is as dear to me as Punjab." With four days remaining until Phase 1 in Mirpur division, both PML-N and PPP are concentrating heavy campaign resources in the south while positioning for the August 2 Muzaffarabad phase.
July 22, 2026
The AJK Election Commission has announced a three-phase election schedule with the 12 disputed refugee seats formally calendared for August 2. JAAC demanded these seats be abolished. The government's answer was not a political response — it was an administrative one. The calendar itself has become the constitution. By the time the ballots are printed, the argument is settled by scheduling.
July 22, 2026
The Joint Awami Action Committee's threatened July 22 long march on Muzaffarabad did not materialise after the organisation received assurances from what Pakistan Observer described as "powerful quarters" — understood to refer to the military establishment. JAAC has instead announced fresh demonstrations within AJK districts, maintaining pressure without a centralised march that risked clashing directly with the campaign rallies of major political parties and the heavy security deployment ahead of Phase 1 of the AJK elections. The underlying reserved-seats dispute remains unresolved.
July 22, 2026
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari addressed a major public meeting at Quaid-e-Azam International Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on July 22, as PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif quipped at a campaign event that he would ask PM Shehbaz to appoint him AJK prime minister if PML-N wins the polls. With Phase 1 of the newly-revised three-phase election now five days away and limited to Mirpur division, the major parties are concentrating their final campaign firepower on the south. Nawaz and Maryam Nawaz are expected in Muzaffarabad for pre-Phase 2 rallies later this week.
Editor — Hamza Azhar Salam · Write to us with suggestions or tips
October 26, 2026
The Pakistan Daily
October 26, 2026
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