G-B Order 2018 restored by apex court

'Government needs to ensure that people of GB have the same respect and rights as all others'

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court reinstated the previously suspended Gilgit-Baltistan order of 2018 and said the people of the region should have rights equal to other citizens of the country.

"The government needs to ensure that the people of GB have the same respect and rights as all other," said Chief Justice Saqib Nisar while hearing the case on Wednesday.

In May, several people were injured as police fired tear gas and resorted to aerial firing in Gilgit to stop protesters approaching the Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) Assembly for a scheduled sit-in against the newly introduced G-B Order 2018.



The protests came after the government introduced governance order 2018, terming it an improved version of Governance Order 2009 introduced by the Pakistan Peoples Party in 2009. However, the new package failed to impress the local politicians who announced the launch of region-wide protests.

The incident came a day before then-PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was scheduled to visit Gilgit where he was to announce the 2018 reforms package in the assembly. “There were minor injuries to many including Awami Action Committee (AAC) Chairman Sultan Raees,” said witness Zakir Hussain.