Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday said that the ongoing Azad Jammu and Kashmir AJK Legislative Assembly elections were among the most significant in the region's political history, stressing that only a free, fair and transparent electoral process could produce a credible government capable of addressing the challenges faced by the people. Addressing a party gathering here on the day polling was held in the first phase of the AJK general elections in Mirpur Division, Bilawal expressed confidence in his party's candidates and campaign, claiming that the PPP had presented a distinct political vision compared to its rivals. "I am proud of my candidates and our entire team.
There is a clear difference between the PPP’s election campaign and those of the other political parties," he told party workers and supporters. Bilawal described the AJK elections as a defining democratic exercise and said that an election of such importance should be conducted in a manner that leaves no room for controversy. "When elections are transparent, impartial and credible, they strengthen not only the democratic process but also the legitimacy of the Assembly that emerges from it.
A representative government with a genuine public mandate is better positioned to resolve the problems confronting the people of Azad Kashmir," he said. He maintained that restoring political normalcy in AJK was essential for improving the daily lives of ordinary citizens and ensuring effective governance. Bilawal said his party had repeatedly expressed concerns regarding the handling of refugee seats before the elections and questioned the decision to hold the polls in three phases.
He also criticised the sequence in which the phases were scheduled, saying such decisions had generated doubts about the fairness of the electoral process. "The responsibility of elected representatives is not merely to contest elections but to solve the people's problems. That responsibility can only be fulfilled with a legitimate public mandate.
Without such a mandate, representatives lack the authority and credibility required to make important decisions," he said.
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