Iftikhar Gillani elected PoK prime minister amid protests, rigging allegations

PML-N leader Iftikhar Ali Gillani was elected the so-called prime minister of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in Muzaffarabad. The outcome has sharpened tensions over reserved seats, pending polls and rigging allegations amid continuing protests.Image used for representational purposes onlyBarrister Iftikhar Ali Gillani of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was on Friday elected to the so-called post of prime minister of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), after recent elections in the region were marred by violent protests and allegations of large-scale rigging.Gillani secured 30 of the 44 votes cast in the so-called legislative assembly during its session in Muzaffarabad, the region's capital. His rival, Mukhtar Ahmed of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), got 14 votes.The assembly has 53 members, but its current strength is 46 as elections for seven seats in Poonch and Sudhnoti districts are yet to be held because of what authorities called a law and order situation. Of the 46 members, 44 took part in Friday's voting. The speaker did not vote, while PML-N regional president Shah Ghulam Qadir stayed away from the session because of differences with his party. PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif had on Thursday named Gillani for the so-called post of prime minister.The polls to the region's so-called legislative assembly were held in three phases on July 27, August 2 and August 3. Gillani had lost the seat he contested directly, but was later elected to the assembly on a technocrat seat. Of the 53 seats in the assembly, 45 are directly elected, while eight are reserved for women, technocrats and clerics. The PML-N has so far won 25 of the 38 constituencies where direct elections were held, while the PPP has won 12. The Awami Dast-o-Bazu party won one seat and backed the PML-N. Of the eight reserved seats, the PML-N got six and the PPP two.A large number of people under the banner of the Joint Awami Action Committee have been protesting in PoK since early June, and several protesters and security personnel have been killed. The regional government banned the group in June. The Joint Awami Action Committee has been protesting against the 12 seats reserved for refugees, and Gillani's election may further sharpen the issue as he entered the assembly on a reserved seat after losing a general seat. Gillani's election comes amid pending polls in seven seats, protests over the electoral process and allegations of rigging. India maintains that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable parts of it, and has said Pakistan is in "illegal and forcible occupation" of parts of these Union Territories.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Aug 28, 2026 18:58 IST