All Jammu

Muzaffarabad, July 12 (UNI) The All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference, with 19 seats, today emerged as the single largest party in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir legislative assembly elections.

According to the state-run Pakistan Television (PTV), the Election Commission of PoK announced unofficial results of thirty-seven seats.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has won seven seats while Peoples Muslim League captured four.

Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) secured one seat each while five independent candidates also emerged victorious.

Elections were held on forty-one seats of the legislative assembly of which twenty-nine are in PoK and twelve for Kashmiri refugees living in various cities of Pakistan.

Prominent politicians who won the elections include Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry, Sahibzada Ishaq Zafar, Chaudhry Latif Akbar, and Sardar Khalid Ibrahim.

PoK Chief Election Commissioner Chaudhry Muhammad Riaz told newsmen that elections were held in fair and peaceful manner.

He said the turnout of voters in PoK was over sixty per cent.

More than 2.4 million voters exercised their franchise to elect 41 legislators for the formation of the new government.

The election was held nine months after the October 8 earthquake, which had killed thousands of people and flattened several areas including Muzaffarabad, the capital.

The total strength of the PoK Legislative Assembly is 49 seats, out of which 41 are elected directly while remaining eight are elected indirectly by the legislators. Five seats are reserved for women and one each for religious scholars, technocrats and overseas Kashmiris.

A total of 3746 polling stations were set up in all 41 constituencies to enable voters to elect their leaders.

Out of total 369 candidates some 197 belonged to 17 political parties and the rest 172 were independents.

The ruling party, Muslim Conference, had fielded 40 candidates, while Peoples Muslim League 37, Pakistan Peoples Party 36, Mutihida Majlas Amal 33 and Mutahida Qaumi Movement representing Urdu speaking people, who migrated to Pakistan from India in 1947, had put up 23 candidates.

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