Tuesday, July 11 2006 12:49 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Islamabad: Sardar Atique of the Muslim Conference is tipped to lead in the first elections in Pakistan administered Kashmir what Pakistan calls 'Azad Kashmir' since the devastating earthquake of October last year, as per pre-poll media conjectures.

Nearly 2.5 million people go to polls Tuesday to elect 41 members of the eighth 'Azad Kashmir' Legislative Assembly.

Atique, 50, son of long-time president and prime minister, Sardar Abdul Qayyum, is widely regarded as enjoying the blessings of President Pervez Musharraf and the pro-Musharraf Pakistan Muslim League (Qaid) leadership.

The political support was open when the father introduced the son to the national leadership last month.

Azad Kashmir People's Party (AJK-PP) presided over by Sahibzada Ishaq Zafar, and People's Muslim League led by Barrister Sultan Mehmood are the key contending parties in the elections. They have, however, expressed doubts about the fairness of the polls during the campaign.

As has been the practice in the past elections, a number of intending candidates who stand for the independence of Jammu and Kashmir were kept out of the polls because they refused to sign the form owing allegiance to Pakistan.

Voters will choose from amongst 369 candidates fielded by 17 political parties of 'Azad Kashmir'. Twenty-nine constituencies fall in 'Azad Kashmir' while the remaining 12 in Pakistan, which are represented by refugees from the Kashmir Valley and Jammu region of Indian administered Kashmir.

'Azad Kashmir' has a total of 1,839,530 voters 966,871 males and 872,659 females - and 29 seats.

As many as 1,112 polling stations have been set up in Pakistan for the 12 assembly seats and 4,858 polling stations with 7,214 booths for voting in 'Azad Kashmir'.

Commenting on the conclusion of the brief campaign, The News said that strict across the board law enforcement was the hallmark of the campaign.

"One wishes this policy is adopted in Pakistan as well and the chief election commissioner is made as neutral and empowered as the man supervising the elections in 'Azad Kashmir' is," he said.

The massive wreck caused by last October's earthquake, which flattened major parts of 'Azad Kashmir' and left hundreds of thousands killed and maimed, did not happily dissuade Pakistani authorities from holding elections on time, the newspaper observed, adding, "Such an approach deserved to be followed in Pakistan too."

At the national level, elections have been promised for next year and the opposition has been clamoring that the elections be held by a 'neutral' election commission and should be free and fair.