GILGIT: Five weeks after the appointment of an interim chief minister, the Gilgit-Baltistan Council notified a 14-member caretaker cabinet, including two advisers, on Friday.
The appointments were made by PM Shehbaz Sharif, in his capacity as head of the GB Council on the advice of caretaker CM retired Justice Yar Muhammad, under Article 48-A(2) of the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan Order, 2018.
The 12 ministers are Sajid Ali Baig, Engineer Altaf Hussain, Ghulam Abbas, retired Col Akbar Ismail, Meher Dad, Sharafat Din, Maulana Sarwar Shah, Raja Shehbaz Khan, Mumtaz Hussain, Dr Niaz Ali, Syed Adil Shah and Bahadur Ali, while Syeda Fatima and Abdul Hakeem have been appointed advisers.
It is worth noting that the territory’s chief election commissioner had recently announced that GB Assembly and local government elections will be conducted in April or May 2026.
He said the long-delayed LG elections would be held on a party basis. The five-year tenure of the GB Assembly was completed on Nov 24, and caretaker Chief Minister Yar Muhammad was sworn in on Nov 26.
PML-N leader claims ‘merit, agreed-upon criteria’ ignored while selecting certain individuals for the interim set-up
The appointment of the caretaker set-up had earlier been mired in controversy, as PML-N GB president and former chief minister Hafeezur Rehman had raised concerns over the inclusion of certain individuals in the cabinet.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, he claimed that merit had been ignored while nominating members for the caretaker set-up.
He said that the caretaker cabinet should have representation from all districts and ethnicities of the region, but alleged that some appointees were affiliated with political parties and belonged to specific areas.
He expressed concern that the inclusion of controversial figures could raise questions about the fairness and transparency of upcoming elections.
Mr Rehman said it was previously agreed that the 14-member cabinet would include representatives from all 10 districts, and that no individual who had previously been part of a government or affiliated with a political party would be appointed.
He said that recommending members from certain areas and appointing controversial individuals violated the criteria for a caretaker government.
Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2026
