{
  "id": 27787,
  "title": "Allies’ rift continues to widen as AJK polls enter 2nd phase",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/02/allies-rift-continues-to-widen-as-ajk-polls-enter-2nd-phase",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-02T02:36:50.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn",
    "slug": "dawn",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2020046/allies-rift-continues-to-widen-as-ajk-polls-enter-2nd-phase"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The divide between Pakistan's two main political parties, the PML-N and the PPP, continues to widen as the second phase of the AJK elections looms. Despite multiple rounds of talks between leaders from both parties in Azad Jammu Kashmir, tensions have not subsided, with leaders from both sides continuing to trade allegations of electoral rigging. Rana Sanaullah, a senior PML-N leader, questioned President Asif Ali Zardari's election as president after PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's allegations against the PML-N's rigging in the 2024 general elections. Meanwhile, PPP leader Saeed Ghani alleged that the PML-N had always rigged polls, particularly in the 2024 polls where Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz lost their own seats. Efforts to defuse tensions between the two parties have thus far been unsuccessful.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Dawn",
        "title": "Second phase of AJK polls begins in Muzaffarabad division",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/02/second-phase-of-ajk-polls-begins-in-muzaffarabad-division",
        "published": "2026-08-02T04:41:44.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}