Four winning independents join IPP in Gilgit-Baltistan

GILGIT: Four recently elected independent candidates in Gilgit-Baltistan have joined the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party after meeting party president Abdul Aleem Khan.

The lawmakers who joined the party are Anwar Ali, elected from GBA-23 Ghanche-II; Dr Asad Shafiq, elected from GBA-24 Ghanche-III; Muhammad Dilpazeer, elected from GBA-15 Diamer-I; and Aman Ali Amir, elected from GBA-21 Ghizer. The development was announced by Mr Khan, who also serves as a federal minister, through his social media account.

Commenting on the move, Mr Khan said the party’s presence in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly for the first time would be significant for the region’s politics and development.

Representation of Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly for the first time will be a welcoming development. With hard work and honesty, the party will fully participate in the development of Gilgit-Baltistan,

In the June 7 general elections in Gilgit-Baltistan, the IPP had fielded 16 candidates across 16 constituencies, but none had secured victory. The addition of four independents now gives the party representation in the assembly and could affect the evolving picture of government formation in the region.

Government formation in focus

The four independent members are being seen as potentially important in the process of forming the next Gilgit-Baltistan government. According to the reported election outcome so far, the Pakistan Peoples Party has won 11 seats, while the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has secured six. Four independents have also returned successful, while two PTI-backed candidates and one candidate of the Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen won their seats.

The results of three constituencies are due to be announced on June 17. A total of 13 members are required to form a government in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly.

Last week, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari welcomed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s statement on government formation in Gilgit-Baltistan and thanked him for it. According to Radio Pakistan, the prime minister assured the PPP of the PML-N’s full support in the process. He said the PML-N had decided to sit on the opposition benches in the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly, but its elected members would vote for the PPP to enable it to form the government.

In a statement, Mr Bilawal said acknowledging the PPP’s majority in Gilgit-Baltistan reflected democratic continuity, and added that his party considered the prime minister’s invitation to form the government a positive step.

Although the PML-N emerged as the second-largest party in the Gilgit-Baltistan elections, it has invited the PPP, its coalition partner at the Centre, to form the government.