Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday expressed grief over the killing of a party worker during polling in the LA-9 Kotli-2 Nakyal constituency of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) elections and called for an investigation into the incident.
In a statement, Bilawal alleged that the worker was shot by a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate and questioned why the relevant authorities had failed to prevent the violence.
“My worker was martyred in Mirpur Nakyal. Where are the concerned authorities?” Bilawal said.
He also questioned the response of the Election Commission, asking what action had been taken despite what he described as prior warnings. Bilawal claimed that a video allegedly showing a PML-N leader firing a weapon had surfaced two days before the incident.
He said that if authorities had acted on the earlier reports, “the loss of a precious human life could have been avoided.”
Bilawal identified the deceased as Mukhtar Younus, describing him as a dedicated PPP worker who had been actively campaigning for the party in Nakyal.
He further alleged that political opponents had resorted to intimidation and violence out of fear of electoral defeat.
Bilawal extended his condolences to the victim’s family and urged the authorities to conduct a transparent investigation and bring those responsible to justice.
The allegations were made by the PPP. No immediate response from the Election Commission of AJK or the PML-N was available.