The prime minister of Pakistan's Kashmir region was arrested and removed from office Friday for declaring null and void the results of last week's parliamentary elections in the territory.
Police arrested Mumtaz Hussain Rathore, prime minister of Azad ("Free") Kashmir, Friday afternoon, state-run Pakistan Television said.It said the federal government has the authority to take such action in the semi-autonomous region under the Azad Kashmir constitution, which under most circumstances prohibits interference by Islamabad in the internal affairs of the mountainous northern territory of more than 3 million people.
Rathore had refused to recognize the results of June 29 parliamentary elections in Azad Kashmir because of what he said was massive vote fraud sanctioned by the federal government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Former federal Prime Minister Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi also had accused the government of rigging the vote. At least 14 people died in clashes between supporters of rival political parties during the balloting.
The Muslim Conference, backed by Sharif's Islamic Democratic Alliance, won a landslide victory in the elections, defeating Rathore's Azad Kashmir People's Party, an ally of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's party. Bhutto's federal administration was sacked last August and her party subsequently lost general elections in October amid allegations of fraud.
Rathore on Wednesday declared the Azad Kashmir results "null and void" and announced fresh polls for September. He also replaced the Islamabad-appointed chief election commissioner in the territory.
"Never in recent history has the chief executive of a state dissolved his parliament, called new elections, participated in the elections and then declared them null and void when they went against him," the television said.