Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party on Monday was poised to form the government in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir for the first time after it won 25 of the 45 seats in the legislative assembly elections marred by deadly violence and allegations of irregularities by the Opposition.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won 25 seats while Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) came second with 11 and the incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) secured just six, the state-run Radio Pakistan reported, citing unofficial results announced by the Election Commission.
Thus, PTI secured a simple majority to form the government without the support of any other party.
It is for the first time that PTI will form a government in PoK.
Traditionally, the ruling party in the country wins the elections in PoK. The 2016 election was won by the PML-N.
Muslim Conference (MC) and Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Party (JKPP) won one seat each.
India has previously slammed Pakistan for its decision to hold elections in Gilgit-Baltistan and said any action to alter the status of the militarily occupied region has no legal basis.
Prime Minister Khan thanked the people of the region for placing their trust in his party through their votes which resulted in PTI’s electoral victory.
“We will focus on bringing the ppl out of poverty through our Ehsaas & Kamyab Pakistan progs; & establish accountability & transparency in govt,” he tweeted.
