• Says any constitutional amendment must protect region’s rights
• PML-N’s Saad Rafique demands NFC share for region
• PTI sees Punjab police deployment in Gilgit-Baltistan as attempt at ‘pre-poll rigging’
GILGIT / LAHORE / ISLAMABAD: PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday called for elections to be held in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) simultaneously with the rest of the country, saying the region must be granted its rights if it was to make “progress in the true sense”.
“When elections are held in Gilgit-Baltistan and the rest of Pakistan at the same time, progress in GB’s struggle for the right to self-rule will be made in the true sense,” the PPP chairperson said while addressing a rally in Shigar ahead of the June 7 elections in the region.
“If we want to ensure true public sovereignty, our demand and aim should be to hold elections in GB at the same time as general elections in Pakistan,” he said.
About the sense of ownership, the PPP chairperson said the difference between his party and other parties was that the latter want to run everything from Islamabad, while his party advocated people’s rule.
If any constitutional amendment had to be made, it was essential that it protected the rights of GB, he added.
The former foreign minister also questioned the need for the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan.
“They say that the Centre has no resources. If that is the case, the first thing that should be done is to end this ministry. And then all political, financial and administrative authority should be transferred to the assemblies in Gilgit and Muzaffarabad,” he said.
Interestingly, PML-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique told an election rally in Skardu that GB should receive a share under the National Finance Commission (NFC), which determines how federally collected taxes are distributed between the Centre and the provinces.
“Both GB and Azad Jammu and Kashmir should receive shares in the NFC,” he added.
He said the PML-N, which ruled the Centre, had launched several development projects for the GB in the past as well. He also asked voters to compare Karachi with Peshawar and Lahore and see the difference in development.
Nawaz to visit GB today
The GB Election Commission has issued NOCs to the PPP chairperson, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari’s daughter, Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari, to visit GB. Meanwhile, the elder Sharif is scheduled to visit GB today (Tuesday).
“PML-N President Nawaz Sharif will go to Gilgit-Baltistan on Tuesday for a one-day visit. During his visit, Nawaz Sharif will meet party leaders and ticket holders,” Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said on X.
PTI cries foul
The PTI has rejected a move to deploy Punjab police in GB, calling it pre-poll rigging. Sheikh Waqas Akram, the party’s information secretary, said while PML-N and PPP leaders continued their “usual unrestricted political campaigns”, PTI leaders were “barred from arranging rallies or public gatherings in GB, with authorities refusing to issue NOCs on baseless pretexts”.
He lamented that while leaders such as Khawaja Saad Rafique are allowed to hold rallies in GB, senior PTI leaders such as Asad Qaisar and Junaid Akbar are denied the same right.
“Adding insult to injury, lawyers who approached the Election Commission of Pakistan for NOCs were bluntly rejected and denied even a written refusal,” he said.
Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2026
