MUZAFFARABAD: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari arrived in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Tuesday for an unscheduled visit, after meeting Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad.

In AJK, he chaired a meeting of the party’s candidates from Muzaffarabad and Poonch divisions to discuss strategy for the July 27 elections.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari, who was accompanied by former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, was received at Kohala by Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar, cabinet members Mian Abdul Waheed, Syed Bazil Ali Naqvi, and Sardar Javed Ayoub, and a large number of party workers.

AJK PM Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, PPP’s AJK political affairs in-charge Chaudhry Riaz, party leader Shaukat Javed Mir and others welcomed him at a hotel, where he later chaired a meeting to discuss electoral strategy for the upcoming polls amid the ongoing unrest.

Talking to reporters, Mr Mir said the PPP leader would attend another meeting on Wednesday with the party’s election candidates, divisional and district presidents, general secretaries and office-bearers of its subsidiary organisations.

Only a few days ago, the PPP had announced a schedule of public rallies for Mr Bhutto-Zardari’s election campaign, under which he was due to address a public meeting in Muzaffarabad on July 21.

However, Mr Mir said the schedule was likely to be revised in view of the chairman’s unscheduled visit. He also expressed the hope that during the election campaign, Mr Bhutto-Zardari would unveil the PPP’s election manifesto for AJK.

Earlier, the PPP chairman met Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar at the Aiwan-i-Sadr in Islamabad.

According to the PPP, the two discussed the “overall situation in the country, including matters relating to Azad Jammu and Kashmir”.

This was his second meeting with the PML-N leader within a month.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2026