GILGIT: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday nominated Khalid Khurshid as Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s candidate for the post of chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan.

PTI chief organiser Saifullah Khan Nyazee made this announcement through a tweet.

According to sources, Mr Nyazee and federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur met Mr Khan in Islamabad on Friday to finalise the name of PTI candidate for the post of GB chief minister.

Mr Khurshid was elected member of the GB Legislative Assembly from GBLA-13 (Astore-1) constituency by defeating the PPP’s Abdul Hameed Khan by a margin of 1,719 votes.

The election for the GB chief minister’s slot, which was earlier scheduled for Saturday (today), will now be held on Monday, according to a notification issued by the GB Assembly Secretariat.

Election postponed till Monday

Born on Nov 17, 1980 in the Rattu area of Shounter tehsil in Astore, Khalid Khurshid did his matric from Public School and College, Gilgit, and received a law degree from Queen Mary University of London. He contested election from GBLA-13, Astore, in 2009 as an independent candidate but lost. He again lost in the 2015 election.

Mr Khurshid joined the PTI on July 28, 2018, and was later appointed president of the party’s Astore-Diamer division chapter.

Mr Khurshid belongs to a well-known political family of Astore district. His father Mohammad Khurshid Khan was a member of the GB Advisory Council in the early 70s.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan is expected to visit GB on Monday to participate in the oath-taking ceremony of the new GB chief minister.

Addressing PTI workers in Gilgit, Mr Khurshid thanked the prime minister for nominating him for the chief minister’s post.

He appealed to GB Assembly members to work as a team for the welfare of the people. “We have to work hard to fulfil the expectations of the people who have voted for us,” he said.

The leaders of political parties and social welfare organisations and civil society members have congratulated Mr Khurshid on his nomination for the post of chief minister.

They expressed the hope that the new chief minister would play his role in resolving issues of the GB people which had been ignored in the past.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2020