ISLAMABAD: Senior leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) held a meeting in Muzaffarabad on Thursday in an effort to defuse tensions between the two coalition partners over allegations of electoral irregularities in the ongoing Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections.
The meeting took place after days of heated exchanges between the two parties following the first phase of polling in the Mirpur division, where the PPP accused the PML-N of large-scale rigging and questioned the credibility of the electoral process.
Sources said the meeting was aimed at preventing the dispute from affecting the working relationship between the two parties in the federal coalition government.
The discussions were reportedly arranged after consultations at the federal level. A source claimed that the initiative had support from the Presidency and the Prime Minister’s Office, though the claim could not be independently verified.
PPP leaders, including Qamar Zaman Kaira, Nadeem Afzal Chan, AJK Prime Minister Faisal Rathore and Nayyar Bukhari, met PML-N leaders Rana Sanaullah and Amir Muqam during the talks.
Sources privy to the meeting said both sides openly discussed their concerns regarding statements issued during the election campaign and after the announcement of results from the Mirpur division.
The PML-N leadership asked the PPP to provide evidence supporting its allegations of organised electoral manipulation. In response, PPP leaders maintained that their objections were limited to four constituencies — LA-5, LA-9, LA-11 and LA-12 — where they claimed serious irregularities had occurred.
The PML-N argued that by raising objections only in four constituencies, the PPP had effectively accepted the results of the remaining nine seats, where both parties secured victories.
According to sources, the two sides agreed that the political dispute should not escalate further or affect the remaining phases of the AJK elections.
The meeting also resulted in an understanding regarding security arrangements for upcoming polling, particularly in Muzaffarabad. Both parties agreed that no person should be allowed to carry weapons inside or around polling stations to ensure peaceful and transparent elections.
The talks marked the first major effort by the PPP and PML-N leadership to contain a dispute that had intensified despite their alliance at the federal level.
