PPP says worker died in Mirpur's Kotli as scuffles, rigging allegations mar first phase of AJK elections

The PPP on Monday claimed that its worker died during electoral violence in Kotli district’s Nakyal tehsil as the first phase of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections was underway in the 13 constituencies of Mirpur division. Polling began at 8am and will continue till 5pm. Today (Monday) had been declared a public holiday in all three districts — Bhimber, Mirpur, and Kotli — of the division to facilitate polling. While some skirmishes and scuffles between PPP and PML-N workers in Kotli district were reported earlier in the day, the electoral process took a violent turn in the afternoon in LA-9 Kotli-II (Nakyal). In a statement on X, the PPP claimed that party worker Mukhtar Younus “died…