Author: Team IBC English (Team IBC English)

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August 10, 2026August 10, 2026Pakistan

Voting Underway in AJK’s Third Election Phase Amid Tight Security, Rigging Claims Polling opened at 8am today in four constituencies of Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch Division, covering the Bagh and Haveli districts, as the third phase of the region’s staggered elections gets underway. Voting will run until 5pm. Heavy Security Deployment Authorities are bracing for potential unrest. The Election Commission has flagged most of the 803 polling stations across the four constituencies as sensitive or highly sensitive, and has moved in reinforcements to match. Election Commission Secretary Raja Mohammad Shakeel said more than 10,000 additional troops have been deployed alongside local police from both districts to keep order and give voters a secure environment to cast their ballots. Where Things Stand AJK’s elections are being held in stages, and tensions between demonstrators and officials have shadowed the process throughout. The first two phases — in Mirpur and Muzaffarabad divisions — took place on July 27 and August 2. The PML-N has come out ahead so far with 24 seats, while the PPP trails with 10. Today’s round was originally supposed to cover all 11 constituencies of Poonch Division, but the Election Commission scaled it back last week to just Bagh and Haveli, citing law-and-order concerns. The remaining seven constituencies — five in Poonch district and two in Sudhnoti — may go to the polls around August 20 or 21. Rigging Allegations Fly Again As in earlier phases, the PPP and PML-N — rivals in AJK despite being coalition partners at the federal level — have traded accusations. The PPP has posted a string of complaints on X alleging misconduct in Bagh and Haveli, including: Roads blocked near Banni Marasira, allegedly to stop voters and monitors from reaching polling stations where PML-N supporters were accused of illegally stamping ballots Delayed voting at several stations due to late-arriving staff PPP polling agents forcibly removed from multiple stations, allegedly allowing unsupervised ballot stamping Agents blocked from stations in Kahuta City by PML-N workers The Election Commission confirmed it had received complaints against two presiding officers accused of manipulating results and said both had been pulled from election duty. Key Races to Watch Roughly 460,000 voters are registered across the four constituencies, choosing among 82 candidates for 803 polling stations. Three heavyweight names are on the ballot: AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore (PPP) is defending his seat in LA-17 against PML-N’s Mohsin Aziz and independent Khawaja Tariq Saeed — a former ally turned rival after a falling-out over a seat-sharing agreement. Former PM Sardar Tanveer Ilyas is contesting LA-15 after briefly threatening to boycott the phase. He faces PML-N’s Mushtaq Ahmed Minhas, PPP’s Sardar Ziaul Qamar, and Jamaat-i-Islami’s Dr Mohammad Khan. Former PM Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, longtime leader of the Muslim Conference, faces a serious challenge in LA-14 from Sajid Iqbal Abbasi, a self-funded philanthropist-turned-candidate from the same tribe as Attique. In LA-16, former ministers Sardar Mir Akbar (PML-N) and Sardar Qamar Zaman (PPP) are the main contenders. Results from this phase are expected to shape the balance of power as PML-N looks to consolidate its lead heading into the final rounds of voting.

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Polling opened at 8am today in four constituencies of Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch Division, covering the Bagh and Haveli districts, as the third phase of the region’s staggered elections gets underway. Voting will run until 5pm. Heavy Security Deployment Authorities are bracing for potential unrest. The Election Commission has flagged most of the 803...

Opposition MP Throws Eggs at Acting Prime Minister During Parliamentary Session
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August 9, 2026August 9, 2026World

Opposition MP Throws Eggs at Acting Prime Minister During Parliamentary Session

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In a dramatic turn of events, an opposition Member of Parliament threw eggs at Kosovo’s Acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti during a parliamentary session. The incident triggered high tension inside the assembly hall as opposition members voiced strong protests against the government. According to international media reports, the incident took place during an official sitting...

Revised polling schedule for Rawalakot and Sudhnoti to be announced within the next seven days: Chief Election Commissioner
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August 8, 2026August 8, 2026Politics

Revised polling schedule for Rawalakot and Sudhnoti to be announced within the next seven days: Chief Election Commissioner

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MUZAFFARABAD:The Chief Election Commissioner of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Justice (retd) Ghulam Mustafa Mughal, stated that due to security reasons and prevailing challenges, the commission decided to complete the electoral process in the four constituencies of Bagh and Haveli districts first. Security forces have already arrived in these districts, and the distribution of polling material...

What If Some “Mistakes” Were Actually Brilliant Ideas?
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August 8, 2026August 8, 2026Blogs

What If Some “Mistakes” Were Actually Brilliant Ideas?

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I often wonder about the people who invent things that change our lives. What goes on in their minds? How do they look at something ordinary and see what the rest of us miss?Are they really different from us, or are they ordinary people who simply think differently and want to leave something meaningful behind?...

PM Shehbaz Sharif visits Roza-e-Rasool ﷺ in Madinah
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August 8, 2026August 8, 2026Pakistan, World

PM Shehbaz Sharif visits Roza-e-Rasool ﷺ in Madinah

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Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, along with a high-level delegation, visited Roza-e-Rasool ﷺ in Madinah and offered voluntary prayers (Nawafil) at Riaz-ul-Jannah. The Prime Minister specially prayed for the progress, prosperity, peace, and security of the country and the nation. Upon arriving in Madinah, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid his respects at the Prophet’s Mosque...

Khushdil Shah’s Clarification on Cricket Rumors
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August 8, 2026August 8, 2026Sports

Khushdil Shah’s Clarification on Cricket Rumors

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Pakistan all-rounder Khushdil Shah has officially broken his silence regarding reports circulating on social media claiming that he is leaving Pakistan cricket. The national cricketer released a detailed statement to clear the air and set the record straight regarding his future aspirations. Reports and rumors had been circulating rapidly across social media platforms claiming that...

Air-Conditioned Dress Shirts in Japan
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August 8, 2026August 8, 2026Health, World

Air-Conditioned Dress Shirts in Japan

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Air-conditioned dress shirts have officially arrived in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering summer heat while helping them stay stylish and comfortable. These innovatively designed dress shirts feature internal fan systems and are quickly gaining immense popularity among corporate employees and commuters. If you need business attire in Japan, Yofuku no Aoyama is pretty...

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August 7, 2026August 7, 2026Pakistan

10 terrorists killed in 2 separate operations in KP: ISPR

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The military’s media affairs wing said on Friday that 10 terrorists were killed in two separate engagements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa a day earlier. Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the terrorists belonged to Indian-sponsored Fitna al Khwarij — a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. It said that in the first encounter,...

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August 6, 2026August 7, 2026Blogs

When Did We Stop Teaching Children to Think?

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Ali was eight years old when he asked his teacher a question that nobody in the classroom expected. “If Isaac Newton had never sat under that apple tree, would someone else have discovered gravity?” The classroom fell silent. The teacher looked at him for a moment and then said, “That’s an interesting question, Ali, but...