ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) on Sunday announced a formal electoral alliance for the July 27 Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections, agreeing to field joint candidates in selected constituencies.
The alliance was announced at a joint press conference in Islamabad by PPP AJK President Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin and JUI-F AJK chief Maulana Saeed Yousaf, alongside senior leaders from both parties.
Under the agreement, JUI-F will field joint candidates in LA-23 Sudhnoti/Pallandri and LA-14 Western Bagh/Dhirkot, while the PPP will withdraw the nomination papers of its candidates, Nabeela Ayub and Zobia Khurshid, in support of the alliance. In return, JUI-F will support PPP candidates in all remaining constituencies.
Speaking at the press conference, Yasin termed the alliance a major political development in AJK and credited PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman for facilitating the agreement.
Maulana Saeed Yousaf described the arrangement as the first formal electoral alliance between the two parties in AJK and directed JUI-F candidates who had filed nomination papers in other constituencies to withdraw in accordance with the party’s decision.
Senior Minister Mian Abdul Waheed said the alliance reflected political maturity and mutual understanding between the two leaderships, while PPP leader Nabeela Ayub announced she would withdraw her nomination papers and campaign for the joint candidate.
Leaders of both parties expressed confidence that the alliance would improve their electoral prospects and enable them to form the next government in AJK.
Separately, the PPP released its first list of 35 candidates for the July 27 elections, covering constituencies across Mirpur, Bhimber, Kotli, Bagh, Poonch, Neelum, Muzaffarabad and refugee seats based in different parts of Pakistan.
Among the key nominees are Afsar Shahid (LA-1 Mirpur-I), Qasim Majeed (LA-2 Mirpur-II, Chakswari), Yasar Sultan (LA-3 Mirpur City), Chaudhry Sohaib Arshad (LA-4 Khari Sharif), Chaudhry Pervez Ashraf (LA-5 Bhimber-I, Barnala), and Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin, who will contest from both LA-10 Kotli-III and LA-12 Kotli-V (Charhoi).
Party sources said the remaining candidates would be announced in the coming days as electioneering gathers pace ahead of the July 27 polls.