Clashes during Pakistan-administered Kashmir polls leave one dead, several injured

At least one person was killed and several others injured during violent clashes on Monday (July 27, 2026) on the polling day of the first phase of elections for the legislative assembly in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. India maintains that Pakistan is in illegal possession of the Indian Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

"Our party worker, Mukhtar Yunus, was killed and two others injured during incidents of firing by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidates," the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) said in a statement. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari expressed grief over the death and questioned the role of authorities and the Election Commission.

The elections, originally scheduled for July 27, are being held in three phases from July 27 to August 10. The assembly has 53 seats: 45 directly elected and eight reserved for women, technocrats and clerics. Both the PPP and PML-N accused each other of rigging in multiple constituencies. The electoral process was briefly interrupted at some polling stations due to scuffles between supporters of rival parties.

Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has boycotted the polls, and the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) has been banned. According to PTI, over 100 people were killed during violent clashes in the region following JAAC protests last month that paralysed life for about 50 days. The JAAC's main demand was the abolition of 12 refugee seats, which the government refused. Dozens of people, including security personnel, were killed in the violence, leading to the ban on JAAC.

India described the protests in Pakistan-administered Kashmir as a "direct consequence" of Islamabad's decades-long "systemic exploitation and administrative oppression" in areas under its "forcible" occupation and criticised reported police brutality against protesters.