August 1, 2026
Federal minister Bilal Azhar Kayani has said the PML-N stands firmly behind the right of Kashmiri refugees to their reserved seats, campaigning on the final day before Sunday's second phase of the Azad Kashmir election. Muzaffarabad division and the twelve refugee constituencies vote on August 2.
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
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.
July 21, 2026
The July 27 AJK general elections are six days away with PML-N and PPP conducting their most intensive campaign activity of the cycle. Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz are expected in Muzaffarabad and Mirpur for major rallies in the next 48–72 hours, coinciding with Bilawal's Nakial meeting today and Muzaffarabad rally on July 24. The campaign runs simultaneously against the JAAC deadline, which expires today. If the march resumes tomorrow, national party leaders and JAAC marchers will converge on Muzaffarabad in the same week.
July 20, 2026
The Azad Jammu and Kashmir general election is seven days away with party campaigns now at their most intensive. PML-N has confirmed rallies for Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz in Muzaffarabad and Mirpur. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is conducting daily meetings across the region with rallies through July 24. PTI is maintaining its boycott of the July 27 polls, though the party is divided internally, with some candidates having initially filed papers before the boycott announcement. The contest has narrowed to PPP, PML-N and independent candidates.
July 17, 2026
Election campaigns for the July 27 AJK Legislative Assembly vote are at their peak with ten days remaining, with party leaders holding corner meetings, public gatherings and constituency tours across 45 seats. The most notable feature of the 2026 AJK campaign is the competitive strength of independent candidates — many with JAAC-affiliated or local-grievance backing — which analysts say makes this the most unpredictable AJK election in recent memory.
July 17, 2026
PTI has formally declared it will not contest the July 27 AJK Legislative Assembly election, citing the "prevailing political and human rights situation" in the region. With PTI out, 846 candidates from PML-N, PPP, IPP, AJKMC and other parties are competing across 45 constituencies for 3.8 million registered voters. IPP is contesting AJK elections for the first time. Independent candidates have emerged as a significant competitive force.
July 11, 2026
Political campaigns in Azad Jammu and Kashmir are gaining intensity with sixteen days remaining before the July 27 Legislative Assembly election. PML-N, the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party, and the PPP-JUI-F alliance are each ramping up constituency-level activity. PML-N held a senior-level strategy meeting in Lahore chaired by Saad Rafique; IPP president Aleem Khan is personally distributing tickets. PTI's boycott leaves a large open field across its former strongholds.
July 11, 2026
Political campaigns in Azad Jammu and Kashmir are gaining intensity with sixteen days remaining before the July 27 Legislative Assembly election. PML-N, the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party, and the PPP-JUI-F alliance are each ramping up constituency-level activity. PML-N held a senior-level strategy meeting in Lahore chaired by Saad Rafique; IPP president Aleem Khan is personally distributing tickets. PTI's boycott leaves a large open field across its former strongholds.
July 6, 2026
The Pakistan Peoples Party and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F have announced a formal electoral alliance for the Azad Jammu and Kashmir general elections scheduled for July 27, with Bilawal Bhutto Zardari predicting a PPP-JUI-F coalition government. PPP has released candidates for all 35 AJK assembly constituencies. The Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party and AJKMC have also announced full candidate slates. PTI, which has boycotted the vote, is absent from the field.
Editor — Hamza Azhar Salam · Write to us with suggestions or tips
