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The sitting Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) prime minister, Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, and both his predecessors lost to their rivals in three of the four constituencies in Poonch division that went to the polls on Monday, in an election marred by allegations of rigging and violence, as well as disruptions and suspension of polling at some places.
The biggest upset was the defeat of Muslim Conference president Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan in LA-14 (Dhirkot), a constituency from where he, and before him his uncle and father, had been elected in all nine elections since 1985.
His defeat also appeared to underscore the political decline of what was once the largest and longest-ruling party in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), but was reduced to a marginal force following the emergence of the PML-N in 2010.
Khan was defeated by Sajid Iqbal Abbasi, who contested his first election on the ticket of the little-known Awami Dast-o-Bazu Party, by a margin of more than 20,000 votes, according to unofficial and unverified results from 211 of 214 polling stations.
