Women barred from voting in Gilgit-Baltistan polls

G-B political parties slam jirga's decision to bar women from voting

A jirga in Gilgit-Baltistan barred women from casting votes in constituency of Darel in the upcoming legislative assembly elections.

The Jirga's decision is likely to disenfranchise more than 12,550 female voters of the GBLA-17, Diamer 3, constituency, according to NDTV.

A similar Jirga decision is pending in the adjacent Tangir Valley.

Read: Tit for tat: Gloves off between PML-N and PPP in Gilgit-Baltistan

Terming the move unconstitutional, political parties called upon chief election commissioner to take notice of this move.

On Friday, PPP leader Amjad Hussain said restricting women voters of Gilgit-Baltistan from casting ballots is lethal for democracy. Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman of PML-N said his party will resist any curb of women’s suffrage.

Read:  Staving off a crisis in G-B: CEC expresses concern over security at 272 polling stations

Senior leader of PTI in G-B Mirza Nusrat said his party will oppose any such move.

According to a top leader of JUI-F, all the candidates from constituency of Darel have agreed that women should not cast their votes because a Jirga has taken this decision.

Read: Round the corner: Schedule announced for G-B’s second elections

If candidates object to the decision of the Jirga, women will be allowed to exercise their right to vote, he said.

Legislative elections in G-B will be held on June 8.