G-B province bill submitted in Senate secretariat

BAP bill proposes 3 seats in NA and 4 in Senate for region

ISLAMABAD:

The Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), a key ally of the federal government from Balochistan, submitted on Monday a bill in the Senate Secretariat for the elevation of the Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) region into an interim province of the country, with representation in the National Assembly and the Senate.

The bill submitted by senators Kauda Babar, Ahmad Khan, Naseebullah Bazai and Prince Omar, proposed amendment to Article 1 of the Constitution to create a new interim province. It said that the people of G-B had long demanded equal citizenship rights in the country.

Formerly known as the Northern Areas, G-B is a region administered by the federal government. In 2009, the region was renamed as “Gilgit-Baltistan” and granted limited autonomy through ‘the Self-Governance Order’ signed by then-president Asif Ali Zardari.

The BAP’s constitutional bill stated that the people of G-B had long been demanding equal citizenship rights. In this regard, the bill further said, a unanimous resolution was also passed by the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly.

It proposed three seats in the National Assembly for G-B and four in the Senate – two general seats and one each for technocrats and women. It also proposed a Gilgit-Baltistan high court, based in Gilgit with a bench in Skardu. It seeks the region’s representation in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).