It was perhaps a consequence of the major parties getting involved, but the PTI cannot escape the examination that is being made of Pakistan’s Kashmir policy under him, in the course of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections. There is perhaps a lack of choice for PPP Co-chairman Bilawal Zardari Bhutto and PML(N) Vice-President Maryam Nawaz pitched in to Mr Khanfor his Kashmir policy. The election may be about how AJK is being run, but the involvement of the Pakistani parties made it inevitable that the election would be about the Kashmir policy. It should not be forgotten that the purpose of AJK’s existence is to act as a base camp for the liberation of Indian-Occupied Kashmir. Mr Khan would find that criticism particularly galling, because he has prided himself on his championing of the Kashmir cause, and has said that he wanted to be known as Kashmir’s ambassador Thie election rhetoric will build up before the actual polling takes place on July 25. By then, not only will Ms Sharif and Mr Zardari have further opportunities to address the electorate, but Mr Khan will also give his reply when he addresses the election rallies planned for him.
An interesting aspect of the election has been the doubts expressed by Ms Sharif about the fairness of the polls. AJK has generally been very consistent in yielding victories in all elections for the party ruling in Islamabad. By that measure, the PTI should be accounted the frontrunner. However, Ms Sharif, whose party is the incumbent, has said that if anyone tried to steal the polls, her party would fight to the end. This was a reference to the vote ko izzat do (respect the vote) slogan her party used in the 2018 elections.
AJK elections are not just differentiated from Pakistani elections because they are out of synch with Pakistani general elections, and thus allow more concentration on the performance of the state government, but because they provide a more intense discussion of the Kashmir issue, which is the main issue, virtually the sole issue, on which the federal government is judged. This is the first time that the PTI will come up against this particular test, and the initial rallies bny Mr Zardari Bhutto and Ms Sharif show that the opposition intends to put Mr Khan though the wringer.
