ISLAMABAD: Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) is set to become a political battlefield for all the major political parties of Pakistan which have already started preparations for the next month elections to be held on 24 general seats of GB Legislative Assembly.

After the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has now also invited applications for party tickets from the candidates.

According to PPP Secretary General Farhatullah Khan Babar, the party has set July 10 as the last date for submission of applications by the aspiring candidates.

The candidates have been advised to address their applications to the president of the PPP-Parliamentarians Asif Ali Zardari against whose name the party is registered in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Those aspiring for the party tickets have been asked to also deposit Rs15,000 non-refundable pay order with their applications. The candidates are required to send the applications to Zardari House in F-8/2.

The PTI had already invited applications on Friday from candidates interested to take part in the polls on the party’s tickets as per procedure prescribed by the party whereas the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the formerly ruling party in GB, though had a special meeting to discuss the strategy for the GB polls in Islamabad on Thursday, is yet to invite applications from the candidates.

Talking to Dawn, PML-N Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb said the party would formally invite the applications in a day or two.The elections on 24 general seats of the GB Legislative Assembly are scheduled to be held on Aug 18. The five-year term of the previous assembly ended on June 24, bringing an end to the five-year rule of the PML-N under its chief minister Hafeezur Rehman.

The GB Legislative Assembly is a 33-member house which was formed under the GB Empowerment and Self-Governance Order 2009 during the previous rule of the PPP under Asif Zardari. Besides 24 general seats, there are six seats reserved for women and three seats for technocrats.

Speaking at a news conference after presiding over a party meeting on Thursday, PML-N’s Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal had stated that free, fair and transparent elections in GB were in the best interest of Pakistan as the country could not afford to have any political controversy or dispute in GB which had already become a flashpoint in the region.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2020