The first phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections has officially begun across the Mirpur Division under strict security arrangements. Polling is taking place in the districts of Mirpur, Bhimber, and Kotli, where election authorities have completed all necessary preparations to ensure a peaceful, transparent, and fair voting process.
According to election officials, all polling materials were delivered to designated polling stations before voting commenced. More than 1.4 million registered voters are expected to cast their votes across 13 constituencies, while approximately 3,500 election officials have been deployed to manage polling activities from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
To maintain law and order, authorities have deployed over 19,000 security personnel, including nearly 17,000 police officers and around 2,100 army personnel as a backup force. A comprehensive three-layer security plan has been implemented to protect voters, election staff, and polling stations. Polling stations have been categorized as highly sensitive, sensitive, and normal, with security resources allocated according to the level of risk.
Mirpur SSP Khurram Iqbal stated that the district has been divided into 56 security sectors, each supervised by a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP). Monitoring teams, rapid-response units, and reserve forces have also been placed on high alert to respond to any emergency during polling.
The AJK Election Commission has urged voters, political parties, and candidates to cooperate with law enforcement agencies and strictly follow the election code of conduct. Officials have also advised the public to avoid spreading or believing unverified information on social media that could disrupt the electoral process.
The AJK elections are being conducted in three phases, with the first phase taking place in Mirpur Division, followed by Muzaffarabad on August 2 and Poonch on August 10. Authorities remain confident that the extensive security arrangements will help ensure peaceful, free, and transparent elections across the region.
