Qayyum Khan's party wins simple majority in PoK polls

ISLAMABAD: The ruling Muslim Conference party in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), headed by former President Sardar is set to form the government again as it has won simple majority in the just-concluded assembly elections, according to unofficial results.

The Muslim Conference has so far bagged 21 out of the 41 seats in the assembly for which the elections were held on Tuesday.

 The assembly has 49 seats in total and the remaining nine seats would be filled by nominations.

The Muslim Conference, which had 31 members in the outgoing assembly, hoped to get 30 seats in all in Tuesday's  polls, Sarver Hussain, a senior party leader and close associate of Qayyum Khan, said.

Qayyum, known as the moderate among the pro-Pakistani Kashmiri leaders, previously served as President and Prime Minister of PoK.

He did not contest the elections but his son Attiq Khan, who has won his seat, is tipped to take over as Prime Minister after consultations with President Pervez Musharraf and Pakistan military, which has played a significant role in formation of governments in the tightly-controlled PoK.