G-B’s acting governor to take oath today

Wazir Baig says restoring peace in Gilgit will be his top priority.

GILGIT: Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly Speaker Wazir Baig, who is taking oath as the acting governor on Monday, said that the expertise and services of international organisations will be sought for the rehabilitation of flood survivors in the region.

The chief judge of the Supreme Appellate Court Gilgit-Baltistan will administer the oath in Islamabad.

The post of the governor became vacant after Dr Shama Khalid died of cancer on September 15.

“We will have regular contact with the federal government and will have our share of international aid for rehabilitation,” Baig told The Express Tribune on Sunday.

Acknowledging that Dr Khalid’s death has left a big vacuum in Gilgit-Baltistan politics, Baig added that he would try to fill in the gap and complete the work she had started. “It is a big responsibility and I will take it as a challenge,” he said.

Commenting on the destruction caused by the floods in Gilgit-Baltistan, Baig said the magnitude of the devastation was huge, adding that efforts would be made to restore the damaged infrastructure.

Over 370 villages, 947 roads, 182 bridges and 504 water channels have been damaged.

On the deteriorating security situation in Gilgit, Baig said that restoration of law and order will be his top priority as governor. He said he would work with the provincial government for the restoration of peace. Last month had seen a fresh wave of target killings in Gilgit.

“We don’t have any room for troublemakers,” Baig said, adding that the government will have to take steps against price hike, corruption and unemployment if peace and equality is to be restored.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 20^th, 2010.