Pakistan-Administered Kashmir Votes in Reduced Third Phase Amid Deadly Unrest

The third and final phase of Azad Jammu & Kashmir's Legislative Assembly election was held on August 10, 2026, but only 4 of the 11 originally scheduled constituencies actually voted — Bagh and Haveli districts, with 800+ polling booths and roughly 460,000 registered voters. Polling in the remaining 7 constituencies was postponed over security concerns following weeks of unrest centered in Poonch division, where the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) led protests demanding abolition of the 12 AJK Assembly seats reserved for refugees from Indian-administered Kashmir who migrated after 1947. Violence since the protests began in June 2026 has killed more than 50 people according to residents and rights groups, though the AJK government has only confirmed at least 7 police and paramilitary personnel killed; JAAC was banned as a proscribed organization under the Anti-Terrorism Act, and an intermittent internet shutdown in Poonch division has stretched beyond 50 days. The AJK Election Commission announced partial third-phase results on August 11: independent-aligned Awami Dast-o-Baazo candidate Sajid Iqbal Abbasi won LA-14 (Bagh-I) over former AJK PM Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan of Muslim Conference; PPP's Zia ul Qamar won LA-15 (Bagh-II) over PML-N's Mushtaq Minhas; sitting AJK PM Faisal Mumtaz Rathore (PPP) retained LA-17 (Bagh-IV); the LA-16 (Bagh-III) result remains pending after re-polling was ordered at twelve polling stations.