Political bigwigs attempt to sway Gilgit-Baltistan as electioneering heats up ahead of June 7 polls

Political bigwigs on Tuesday sought to garner public support in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) as PML-N President Nawaz Sharif and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari addressed rallies ahead of the June 7 elections. General elections in GB are scheduled for Sunday, after a four-month delay attributed to harsh winter weather. Addressing a public gathering in Skardu, where First Lady Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari was also present, Bilawal called for greater rights for the people of GB. “I have to struggle along with GB’s new generation […] If we have to implement the manifesto of roti, kapra, makaan in its true sense, then we will have to work on three rules — we will have to attain the right to haq-i-hakimiyat (right to govern), haq-i-malkiyat (right to ownership), and haq-i-rozgaar (right to employment),” Bilawal said. He further said, “The struggle of PPP’s new generation will be to get you your right to govern, and that will happen when GB will get the protections, facilities and powers provided in the 18th Amendment.” Bilawal had begun his speech by condemning Israeli attacks on Iran. Recalling the US-Israel’s deadly strikes on Iran, including one that killed students at a school, as well as the assassination of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Bilawal said it did not seem “appropriate to run an election campaign” in an elaborate manner. “I toured GB on foot in the last elections. I wanted to do the same this time,” he said, adding that there was an “air of grief” for the people in GB and him. The PPP chairman praised Pakistan’s ongoing efforts for peace in the region, particularly the role played by Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir. “It is extremely important that the effort for peace succeeds, because the people of Iran and Palestine and the entire Muslim world are bearing the burden of this war, but at the same time, the entire world’s youth are also facing that burden,” he said, noting the conflict’s economic impact and the resulting inflation. The Bhutto scion asserted that the PPP was the “only party that represents the underprivileged and the poor”. “We first think of the underprivileged, then we ask the developing. We first think of the labourers, then ask the business people. We first ask the farmers, then ask the landlords,” he added. Bilawal emphasised that the country could only develop once the working masses and the youth were economically empowered, claiming that other political parties were in favour of making the affluent wealthier. “Progress is when the farmer gets their hard work’s fruit, progress is when employment opportunities are created for the youth,” he said, recalling that the policies of his grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto “made labourers the owners of mills”. He went on to recall a slogan from the tenure of his mother, ex-premier Benazir Bhutto — “ Benazir aye gi, rozgaar laye gi [Benazir will come, and bring employment]” — prompting the supporters to raise the same chants. He also praised his father, President Asif Ali Zardari, for launching the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) during his previous tenure as president. Earlier in the day, ex-premier Nawaz reached Gilgit for a one-day visit and lamented the lack of development in the region. “I am speaking to you after many years. Isn’t that the case? Perhaps you have forgotten me,” Nawaz said while addressing the public in Gilgit, prompting roaring chants in his support. Noting that he was fond of mountains, Nawaz stressed he “wholeheartedly loved” GB. “When I love the area from my heart, then why would I not love the people from my heart? You live in my heart,” he quipped. The PML-N chief then went on to lament the lack of development in the region. “When I saw the condition of the roads after exiting the airport, I cannot even describe it. It hurt me immensely. Where is the Gilgit that I used to know?” he said. “My heart cries on why this was allowed, why the money that should have been spent on you all was not done so,” Nawaz remarked. Noting there were “so many potholes”, Nawaz recalled that the PML-N had in the past worked on constructing roads and asked why the project was not extended to Gilgit as originally planned. “I do not want to speak against any party or government, but my heart urges me to ask them that you got the chance to serve this country, then why did you ignore this area?” the ex-premier asked. He added that the PML-N did not seek votes by criticising other parties, but rather based on the work it did. “The road that I had started was not built up to here, it should have been and then built further till Khunjerab,” he said, highlighting that building the road till Skardu had cost Rs50 billion. “It is the right of the people of GB, not a favour that I am doing to you,” he added. The ex-premier highlighted that the PML-N government had constructed hospitals, power plants and hydel power plants. “Tell me if any other party has even placed a brick here,” he jibed, with supporters responding in the negative. “It saddens me that the airport has remained the same as it was in my tenure,” Nawaz said, pointing out that it had not been expanded and the air traffic to the tourist hotspot had not increased. The PML-N president then assured the GB residents that he would hold a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and ask him to expand the airport so that commercial jets could operate there. Flaunting the shortened commute time from Gilgit to Skardu, Nawaz said, “We reduced a nine-hour journey to three hours, saving you six hours, making things easy for your kids and families.” The former premier lamented, “Projects are launched here but they are never seen completed.” He highlighted that there was great potential for generating hydel and solar electricity in the region. Noting load-shedding of over 20 hours in winters and of up to 12 hours in summers, he said, “It is unacceptable to me.” Nawaz said that regardless of whether the PML-N wins the elections or not, “we cannot keep you deprived of these things”, vowing to speak to PM Shehbaz about electricity outages in GB. The PML-N supremo said he will urge both PM Shehbaz and his daughter, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, to visit GB, also pledging to visit the region every two to three months if his party is elected. Nawaz also mentioned his last ouster during his speech, recalling that he had formed a committee as the prime minister in 2017 on GB’s share in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award. “Do not complain to me. I am not ready to hear this grievance because this is your fault as well, that why you let a person like me be exiled,” he said. “Why did I have to leave the country and go abroad? Why were [we] jailed?” Terming GB the “centre” of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Nawaz called for it to be developed further, with electric buses launched and hospitals built. He vowed that the cancer hospital built by the PML-N in GB would be expanded. He also advocated for housing loan schemes for the residents of GB and interest-free loan programmes for youth for their businesses. The PML-N president also pledged to have a women’s university constructed if his party got the chance to govern the region. “It is exam day for you three days from now,” Nawaz quipped, referring to the polling day. Nawaz was also set to meet with party ticket holders during his GB visit. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Inter-Provincial Coordination Minister Rana Sanaullah, Punjab Senior Provincial Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, senators Pervaiz Rasheed and Anusha Rahman, and MPA Kazim Ali Pirzada were accompanying Nawaz, state-run PTV said. Minister for Kashmir Affairs and GB Amir Muqam, Nawaz’s son-in-law retired captain Mohammad Safdar, PML-N’s former GB chief minister Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman and other party members welcomed the PML-N supremo upon his arrival. In a post on X earlier in the day, the PML-N said the Election Commission of GB had issued a no-objection certificate allowing Nawaz to visit GB and “lead his party’s political campaign for the upcoming general elections”. Elected as an MNA in the February 2024 general elections, Nawaz makes rare public appearances. However, he serves as the PML-N’s key decision-maker and as a political mentor to CM Maryam. Earlier in April, Nawaz had vowed that, if elected in GB, the party would focus on development in the region. Saad Rafique calls for ‘comprehensive plan’ for GB’s constitutional status Prior to Nawaz’s arrival, senior PML-N leader and former federal minister Khawaja Saad Rafique addressed a gathering in Skardu, where he emphasised the need to address the issue of GB’s constitutional rights through a “comprehensive plan”. “Till how long will the issue (GB’s constitutional status) remain undecided?” Rafique asked, stressing that while “Kashmir was an important issue, but so was the future of the people of GB”. “The time has come for the parliament to debate the matter,” he said, adding that it was the collective responsibility of all parties, state institutions and security institutions to take GB forward. The PML-N leader further called for an equitable share for GB and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) in the NFC Award. He also said that Nawaz would announce the party’s “charter” during his GB visit. Noting the lack of development in the region, Rafique acknowledged that “no government will be able to solve everything in five years”. However, he emphasised, a direction for the future could be determined. “The PML-N laid down that foundation in their last tenure,” he added. Recalling that the region had seen tenures of three different parties, he called on the people to “vote for whoever did the most work”. “Seven to eight flights operate from here every day; this can be quadrupled, dams can be made,” Rafique said, outlining potential for “small viable projects to tackle GB’s electricity issues” as well as improved internet and road connectivity in the region.