GILGIT: A parliamentary committee of Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly has rejected a private members’ bill submitted by four senators of the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) in the Senate seeking provisional province status for GB.

According to a joint statement issued by 12 members of the GB Legislative Assembly, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam condemned the move of the senators and announced their decision to oppose it.

The statement said a meeting of the parliamentary committee on GB provisional province draft was held in Islamabad on Monday. It said any move without consulting the GB people would be resisted.

It said the parliamentary committee members on GB provisional province were preparing recommendations for draft of the amendment bill.

“The bill submitted by BAP members in the Senate in a dramatic way is not acceptable,” it said.

The statement said that GB Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid Khan had spoken to Prime Minister Imran Khan and Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani and they had assured him that the bill submitted by BAP would be withdrawn. They said that any draft bill other than the one prepared by elected members of GB would not be accepted.

The GB lawmakers announced the decision to boycott work on preparation of the draft till withdrawal of the bill submitted by BAP senators.

Meanwhile, PPP leader Amjad Hussain appreciated the bill submitted by the BAP senators. Talking to media, he said the parliamentary committee of GB assembly was just a waste of time. He alleged that the committee members were trying to get concessions to complete their tenure.

He said it was agreed that elections in GB would be conducted with the general elections in Pakistan.'

Published in Dawn, March 2nd, 2022