AJK Supreme Court suspends High Court verdict in PTI registration case

MUZAFFARABAD: The Supreme Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir has suspended the decision of the Azad Kashmir High Court in the case related to the registration of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Azad Kashmir and constituted a full bench for the next hearing.

The Supreme Court has issued notices to all parties in the case, while the further hearing of the matter will be on July 2.

It should be noted that the Azad Kashmir High Court, in its decision, had ordered the Election Commission of Azad Jammu and Kashmir to register Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Azad Kashmir as a political party.

The Supreme Court has temporarily suspended the decision of the High Court and referred the hearing of the case to the full bench, where further action will be taken after hearing the arguments of the parties.

After this decision, the matter of registration of PTI Azad Kashmir will still be pending, and the final decision is expected after the next hearing of the Supreme Court.

On the other hand, the Election Commission has already issued the election schedule for the general elections to be held in Azad Jammu and Kashmir on July 27, 2026, and all the dates for filing nomination papers, scrutiny, appeals, and withdrawals have also been fixed.

According to the latest electoral rolls, the number of registered voters has crossed 3.8 million, which is a significant increase compared to the previous elections.

The Supreme Court also removed a major constitutional hurdle in the electoral process by maintaining the 12 assembly seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees living in Pakistan, after which the path to holding the elections became even smoother.