Newly-elected: Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly to meet on June 24

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif likely to meet lawmakers on Friday

GILGIT: The newly-elected Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly members will meet for their first session and elect the speaker, deputy speaker and leader of the house on June 24. The session will be the first time elected representatives enter the legislature since Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz swept the June 8 polls, clinching 16 out of GBLA’s 24 seats.

According to assembly officials, Speaker Wazir Baig will conduct his final session and hand over charge to the new speaker. Members occupying reserved seats – six women and three technocrats – will also participate in the session.

First visit

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will visit Gilgit and meet the new lawmakers on Friday. This will be his first trip after the helicopter crash in Naltar, which killed eight people, including foreign diplomats and the flight crew.

He is also likely to announce the new chief minister’s name during the trip. Talking to the media, G-B Governor Barjis Tahir said the PM would also announce new development projects that will be undertaken for the region.

He hoped the new government would work to promote harmony across sectarian and political lines, and perform transparently, prioritising merit.

The governor said the confidence expressed in the transparency of G-B polls by national and international observers and the media at large was a major achievement.

He said, “The new administration will capitalise on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor and Diamer-Bhasha Dam and pave way for investment in the region.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23^rd, 2015.