PM Imran Khan’s party wins Pakistan-administered Kashmir polls

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has won a majority of seats in elections for the legislative assembly of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, preliminary results say.

According to unofficial results released by the election commission, Khan’s PTI won 25 out of 45 seats in the polls held on Sunday.

The opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) won 10 seats, while the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) won six.

Polling was held across the Himalayan territory, home to 4.04 million people, and in certain districts in Pakistan where large populations of Kashmiri migrants live.

Pakistan and India both claim the entire territory of Kashmir but administer separate parts of it, divided by a Line of Control (LoC).

Voting on Sunday followed a hotly contested campaign between Pakistan’s main political parties, with violence erupting in at least one constituency on Sunday.

At least two people were killed and several others wounded when a clash occurred between supporters of the PTI and the PPP in the town of Kotli, about 100km (62 miles) south of Muzaffarabad, the territory’s capital.

Polling was temporarily interrupted in that and several other constituencies due to violence.

Also on Sunday, four Pakistani soldiers died and four other personnel were injured when their vehicle met with an accident in the Pakistan-administered Kashmir area of Laswa, Pakistan’s military said in a statement.

The soldiers were deployed to provide security during the polls.