JHELUM VALLEY: (Azadi Times) The political landscape in Jhelum Valley is heating up as dozens of candidates from the ruling PTI, Muslim League-N, and Pakistan Peoples Party have submitted their nomination papers for the upcoming elections for chairman, vice chairman, mayor, and deputy mayor positions across the district and municipal committees.
In a notable alliance, PTI and PML-N have come together in Hattian Bala, the constituency of former Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir, Raja Muhammad Farooq Haider Khan. PML-N’s Sajawal Khan has been nominated for Mayor of the Municipal Committee Hattian Bala, while PTI’s Sheikh Mumtaz will serve as the unopposed Deputy Mayor. Additionally, in the Town Committee Chikar, Muslim League-N’s Malik Muhammad Bashir and Tariq Rashid Butt were elected unopposed as Chairman and Vice Chairman, respectively.
However, the alliance did not hold in Constituency Seven Jhelum Valley. Despite initial cooperation, both parties ultimately endorsed different candidates. PTI and PML-N jointly nominated Bashir Alam Awan from Leepa Valley for Vice Chairman of the District Council Jhelum Valley, while Azim Zahid Advocate was nominated by another faction.
On Saturday, numerous candidates from various local bodies across Jhelum Valley submitted their nomination papers to the District Council. Key candidates include PTI’s Khawaja Ahsan Manzoor, Tayyab Manzoor Kayani, Asif Iqbal Mughal, and Chaudhry Abdul Jabbar, and PML-N’s Raja Aftab Ahmed Khan for the District Council Chairmanship. For Vice Chairman, PTI’s Zahid Fareed, Altaf Gujjar, Khawaja Ahsan, and Asif Iqbal, along with Muslim League-N’s Raja Azim Zahid Advocate and PPP’s Bashir Alam Awan, have filed their papers.
In several union councils, candidates were elected unopposed:
- Union Council Sadak Chinari: Raja Sajjad Khan (Chairman), Farooq Shah (Vice Chairman)
- Union Council Nadjian: Chaudhry Ishaq (Chairman), Chaudhry Nazir (Vice Chairman)
- Union Council Chakhama: DSP (R) Abdul Shahid Mughal (Chairman), Ch. Muhammad Waris (Vice Chairman)
- Union Council Muknet: Habibur Rahman Abbasi (Chairman), Muhammad Ishaq (Vice Chairman)
- Union Council Lamnian: Hashmat Chak (Chairman), Khurshid Ahmed (Vice Chairman)
- Union Council Gujar Bandi: Ghazanfar Iqbal Mughal (Chairman), Javed Chaudhry (Vice Chairman)
- Union Council Chikar: Zaheer Hussain Kayani (Chairman), Haji Nazir Hussain (Vice Chairman)
The contest is particularly fierce in the native union council of former Prime Minister Raja Muhammad Farooq Haider Khan in Salmiya. Political parties and members are actively strategizing to secure the chairman and vice chairman positions, indicating that the next few days will be crucial in determining the political future of Jhelum Valley.
