General elections were held in

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir ( ), is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger ...

on 11 July 2006 to elect the members of eighth assembly of Azad Kashmir. Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan and Raja Zulqarnain Khan were elected as

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and

President of Azad Kashmir The president of Azad Kashmir (Urdu: , romanized: ''s̤adr-i Azād Kaṣhmīr'' lit. 'President of Azad Kashmir', Urdu pronunciation: ̤ə'dr-e: a:'za:d kə'ʂmi:r, officially the president of the State of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, is the const ...

, respectively.

Results

The

All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference The All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference () also shortly referred as Muslim Conference (MC) is a political party in Pakistan administered territory of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The party was founded in 1941 by Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas, and Syed ...

(AJKMC) won twenty general seats, the

Pakistan People's Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a centre-left political position, it is cu ...

seven, the People's Muslim League (PML) four the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) two, and the Jammu Kashmir Peoples Party (JKPP) one. Six independents also won seats, although three of them joined the AJKMC after the election. LA-33 Jammu and Others-IV had its election postponed by four days, which saw another AJKMC victory. Following the elections, the AJKMC managed to win four seats reserved for women and one reserved seat each for

ulema In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

technocrats Technocracy is a form of government in which decision-makers appoint knowledge experts in specific domains to provide them with advice and guidance in various areas of their policy-making responsibilities. Technocracy follows largely in the tra ...

, and overseas. On the other hand, the PPP only won one reserved seat for women. Therefore, the AJKMC managed to have thirty-one members in the Assembly, the PPP eight, the PML four, independents three, the MQM two, and the JKPP one.

Aftermath

The AJKMC formed the next government in Azad Kashmir, easily electing its leader, Attique Ahmed Khan, as the next

. Khan had received 35 votes and defeated Sahibzada Muhammad Ishaq Zaffar of the PPP, who received only eight votes. The AJKMC was also able to elect Shah Ghulam Qadir and Sardar Farooq Tahir as Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, respectively.

Controversies

Candidates from the

Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front The Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) is a formerly armed, political separatist organisation active in both the Indian-administered and Pakistani-administered territories of Kashmir. It was founded by Amanullah Khan, with Maqbool Bhat also ...

and other pro-independence groups were not allowed to run; local law prohibits persons expressing views counter to "the ideology of Pakistan, the ideology of the State’s accession to Pakistan or the sovereignty, integrity of Pakistan" from running for office. Opposition groups saw the vote as rigged in favour of the Pakistani federal government.

References

{{Azad Kashmiri elections Elections in Azad Kashmir Azad July 2006 in Pakistan