BHIMBER: Polling was briefly suspended on Monday after a fire broke out at Polling Station No. 161 (BHU) in the Bhimber-2 Darbar Baba Shadi Shaheed constituency during the first phase of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections.
Election officials said approximately 230 ballots had already been cast before the incident occurred. Firefighters responded to the scene and, after bringing the blaze under control, voting resumed at the polling station.
Preliminary reports indicate that the unrest followed rising tensions between supporters of two rival political parties. The constituency is witnessing a closely fought contest between Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) candidate Ali Shan Soni and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Chaudhry Muhammad Razaq.
Reports also suggested that polling activities were disrupted in the Rael and Pilan areas following alleged clashes between political workers.
Police and district administration officials quickly reached the affected locations to restore order and ensure the continuation of the electoral process.
Authorities have yet to issue an official statement detailing the cause of the fire or confirming the full circumstances surrounding the incident.
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