Muzaffarabad, June 9 (Azadi Timed): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) suffered a heavy defeat in the by-election on the seat of former Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir Tanveer Ilyas.
According to unofficial and inconclusive results of all 189 polling stations of Azad Jammu Kashmir Legislative Assembly Constituency LA-15 Bagh-II, Zia Qamar of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has won with 22,035 votes.
The candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Mushtaq Minhas, has secured 16,271 votes. Colonel Zameer Khan of PTI was far behind with 13,000 votes.
Two years ago, PTI won this seat by 5,500 votes. The seat fell vacant after the disqualification of former Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan.
The by-election was held peacefully and the turnout was recorded at 55%.
The defeat is seen as a major setback for PTI in Azad Kashmir, where it is the ruling party. The party has been facing criticism over its performance in the region.
The PPP Azad Kashmir and PML-N have welcomed the results and said that it is a victory for the people. They have also vowed to work for the betterment of Azad Kashmir.
The PTI has not yet commented on the results.