PML-N leadership meets in Islamabad to finalise G-B election tickets

Board includes PM Shehbaz, Nawaz Sharif, Ishaq Dar, Ahsan Iqbal, Khawaja Asif, Maryam Nawaz and others

ISLAMABAD:

The leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and party leader Nawaz Sharif, met in Islamabad at Punjab House on Monday to finalise party tickets for the upcoming Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) elections, according to party sources.

Nawaz arrived at Punjab House in Islamabad, where members of the party’s parliamentary board had also gathered for the meeting. A 23-member parliamentary board has been formed by the party leadership to select suitable candidates for the G-B general elections.

The board includes PM Shehbaz, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Planning Minister and PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal, and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, Hamza Shehbaz, Khawaja Saad Rafique, and Ijaz Shah are also part of the panel.

PML-N Gilgit-Baltistan President Hafeezur Rehman and senior party leaders, including Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Rana Sanaullah, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Anusha Rahman, Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar, and Chaudhry Barjees Tahir, are also attending the meeting.

Read More: Terror threat: Gilgit-Baltistan put on high alert

In addition, PML-N Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa President Engineer Amir Muqam and Gilgit-Baltistan leaders Haji Akbar Taban, Shams Mir, Muhammad Ashraf Sada, Muhammad Anwar, Arman Shah, Sultan Ali Khan, and Muhammad Imran Wakeel are participating as members of the parliamentary board.

A high-level PML-N delegation from Gilgit-Baltistan had earlier met Sanaullah and Muqam last week to discuss preparations for the upcoming general elections. The meeting included detailed consultations on the overall political situation, organisational matters, and future electoral strategy in G-B, according to a press release.

It was agreed to field strong, capable, and popular candidates in all constituencies, while accelerating and streamlining the election campaign. The participants also agreed to expand public outreach efforts.

G-B elections on June 7

The G-B Election Commission Secretariat, in a notification, on April 12, announced June 7 as the poll day for the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly general elections. It added that the elections would be held under the Election Act 2017 and G-B Order 2018.

General elections for the G-B Assembly were originally scheduled for January 24. However, days after the announcement, the elections were postponed indefinitely due to harsh weather conditions in the region.

Earlier this month, Khan said the GB Election Commission was preparing to conduct the elections but had not yet decided on a date. Fourteen political parties had stood opposed to holding elections in the months of January or February due to harsh weather conditions, as many areas remained cut off from other areas amid heavy snowfall.

Political parties in G-B were uncertain about holding elections before June but feared they could be delayed until October. They agreed that holding elections during Muharram, which begins on June 15 or 16 this year, or on other religious occasions such as Chehlum, was not possible.

Political leaders, therefore, feared that postponing elections until June could effectively delay them until September or October.