The Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) Chief Court on Wednesday restrained the federal ombudsperson from appointing a regional advisor in the territory, observing that the matter requires detailed hearing.
The order came in response to a petition filed by the Gilgit-Baltistan Advocacy Forum (GBAF), a civil society platform, which challenged the extension of federal law to G-B when the region had already legislated on the subject.
The Forum argued that the Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2013, passed by the G-B Assembly, provided the necessary framework, yet no provincial ombudsperson had been appointed over the past 12 years.
Despite repeated efforts to engage political leadership and the National Commission on the Status of Women, the Forum said its concerns were ignored, prompting it to move court. Counsel Muhammad Luqman, who represented the petitioners, presented arguments before a divisional bench that subsequently admitted the case for regular hearing and issued an injunction against the appointment.
Calling the decision "encouraging," the Forum said the ruling would strengthen public confidence in the integrity of the provincial legislative assembly and empower local laws. "This is a milestone for the protection of human rights and regional autonomy in lawmaking," said spokesman Jubilee Hunzai, expressing gratitude to their counsel for pursuing the case pro bono.
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