Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah. SCREENGRAB
BAGH:
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Saturday predicted that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) will form the next government in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) with a two-thirds majority, as he urged voters in Bagh to turn out in force for the third phase of the region’s elections.
Addressing a rally in Bagh ahead of Monday’s polling, Sanaullah said the PML-N had secured 24 seats in the first two phases and needed six more for a two-thirds majority.
He expressed confidence that the party would win four additional seats in the August 10 polling in Bagh and Haveli, followed by another five when elections are eventually held in the remaining areas of Poonch Division.
“The PML-N will form a government with a two-thirds majority. The people of Kashmir have trusted PML-N. They have trusted Mian Nawaz Sharif. They have trusted the development in Punjab,” he said.
The third phase was originally scheduled to cover all 11 constituencies of Poonch Division but was revised due to law and order concerns. Polling on August 10 will now take place only in Bagh and Haveli, while elections in the remaining constituencies of Poonch Division will be held later.
Sanaullah called on supporters to come out and vote on Monday, saying a PML-N government would give priority to development projects.
He also pledged that a future PML-N government would engage with representatives of the proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), which has been holding protests across the region for several weeks and demanding the abolition of 12 seats in the AJK legislature reserved for refugees from Indian-held Kashmir.
“When this government will be set up, with a two-thirds majority, they will sit with [JAAC] representatives. Their first task will be to resolve this issue.”
Sanaullah said 99 per cent of JAAC protesters were “our brothers”, describing them as patriotic Kashmiris and Pakistanis. He said the remaining protesters were focused on creating divisions within the nation.
He alleged that India was attempting to create misunderstandings between Pakistan and the people of Kashmir after failing to achieve its objectives through direct confrontation, saying such efforts would not succeed.
The minister called for cooperation between a future PML-N government and the people of AJK to “expose and defeat” divisive elements.
