G-B speaker steps down, hands over slot to deputy

Pact was signed in 2020 that Zaidi will remain on post for 2.5 years; quit to make way for Nazir

GILGIT:

Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid on Wednesday tweeted that Amjad Ali Zaidi had stepped down from the post of region’s legislature speaker as part of an agreement and the slot had been handed over to his deputy, Advocate Nazir Ahmed.

“While implementing the party agreement reached in the 2020 election about the two-and-a-half-year term of the G-B Assembly speakership, Syed Amjad [Ali] Zaidi has resigned … [Advocate] Nazir Ahmed has been nominated by the PTI as the new speaker,” he wrote.

He added that he was “very happy” that the PTI G-B had fulfilled this important election promise with “mutual unity and understanding” even in difficult circumstances.

The G-B CM paid tribute to Zaidi for his decision to resign in a “dignified manner” to fulfill this promise. He “strongly” hoped that Nazir would use his skills as well as abilities to carry out the affairs of the G-B Assembly in an efficient manner and establish good democratic traditions.

Zaidi's decision came in the wake of a faction within the PTI G-B filing a no-trust motion against him a day earlier for “not honouring an agreement to step down after two and a half years”.

The motion against Zaidi was submitted to the assembly secretariat by G-B ministers Javed Ali Manwa and Raja Zakaria. According to them, 16 lawmakers had signed the motion.

Speaking to reporters, Nazir recalled that an agreement was reached in 2020 that Zaidi would step down after two and a half years from the post of the speaker so that he could take over the slot.

However, he added that Zaidi had refused to comply with the pact reached back then.

“It was decided that Zaidi will hold the speakership for two and a half years and then I will be elected as speaker for the remaining term,” he continued.

Nazir said the agreement was reached in the presence of PTI Chairman Imran Khan and the G-B CM.

He added that Zaidi had even refused to listen to the party’s central leadership, which had ordered him to step down from the post.

However, apparently the pressure tactics of the Nazir-led faction prevailed in the end and Zaidi stepped down from his post before there could be growing unrest among his rivals.

(With input from agencies)