• Move comes ahead of polls as GB Assembly tenure expires on Nov 24
• CEC Raja Shehbaz Khan says all arrangements complete
GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan Election Commission on Tuesday curtailed the powers of the Gilgit-Baltistan government ahead of the upcoming general elections in the region.
GB Chief Election Commissioner Raja Shehbaz Khan told Dawn that the arrangements had been made to ensure free and fair elections in the region. He warned that anyone found violating the election code of conduct would be sent to jail under Section 10 of the Election Act.
According to a notification issued by GB Election Commission on Tuesday, the tenure of the GB Assembly is set to expire on November 24. It stated that it is the commission’s constitutional duty to organise and conduct general and local government elections in GB, and to make all necessary arrangements to ensure that these elections are conducted honestly, justly, fairly, and in accordance with the law, while safeguarding the process from corrupt practices.
“The general public has expressed genuine concerns about appointments, upgradations, and transfers of government officers and officials across various departments during this sensitive pre-election period. These actions have given rise to apprehensions that they may be politically motivated, potentially undermining public trust in the fairness and integrity of the election process,” the notification said.
“After careful consideration of these concerns, the GB Election Commission believes that such appointments, upgradations, and transfers carried out during the election period risk being perceived as attempts to gain political advantage. This perception could weaken public trust in the neutrality, impartiality, and overall integrity of the electoral process,” it added.
The commission further ordered: “No proposal for the creation of new posts shall be submitted to the GB Finance Department. Likewise, no case of re-designation, up-gradation, concurrence, or new post creation shall be processed by the GB Finance Department or the Services & General Administration Department. However, genuine cases duly justified may be considered only after obtaining prior approval/NOC from the GB Election Commission.”
It also stated: “The release of additional funds for new or maintenance works is prohibited, except in cases of extreme emergency in the public interest, duly justified to and approved by the GB Election Commission.
“No new policy, directive, rule or regulation shall be issued or implemented after the issuance of this notification until the formation of the next provincial government.”
The notification said it would take immediate effect and remain operative until the conclusion of the forthcoming polls.
Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2025
