Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister’s oath ceremony put off over Bilawal’s unavailability

GILGIT: The swearing-in of Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister-elect Advocate Amjad Hussain, which had been scheduled for July 1, has been postponed because PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is unavailable, according to an official statement issued by the party’s local chapter.

The statement said the ceremony was deferred in light of the PPP chairman’s engagements. It added that a fresh date and time for the oath-taking would be announced later. According to the party, Bilawal is expected to attend the funeral rites of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the coming days.

Advocate Amjad Hussain was elected unopposed as Leader of the House on June 22. Speaking on Sunday about the tasks facing the incoming administration, he said Gilgit-Baltistan was confronting severe effects of climate change while also dealing with a financial crisis. He said his government would ask the federal government for additional resources to address the situation and would ensure public funds were used effectively for the welfare of local residents.

The chief minister-elect said his administration would define its priorities and begin work after the oath-taking. He also said the delay in the passage of the budget for the current fiscal year in June would not create a problem.

Government agenda and political position

Amjad Hussain, who also heads the PPP’s Gilgit-Baltistan chapter, said his government would be people-friendly and would make every effort for the betterment of the region’s people. He said the PPP had fought the GB elections on three themes: Right to Rule, Right to Land Ownership, and Right to Employment.

Referring to those campaign points, he said they had challenged the narratives advanced by religious and nationalist parties. “These slogans countered the narratives of religious and nationalist parties,” he remarked.

On the constitutional status of Gilgit-Baltistan, the chief minister-elect said the PPP had put forward the idea of provisional provincial status for the region after the Modi government revoked the special status of India-held Kashmir in 2019. He said making GB a provisional province would serve as Pakistan’s response to that move.

He said giving Gilgit-Baltistan provisional provincial status and representation in the Senate and National Assembly until a plebiscite is held in Kashmir would protect Pakistan’s position on the Kashmir issue. He also recalled that Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had raised the rights of Gilgit-Baltistan’s people in a recent speech in the National Assembly.

Amjad Hussain further said the PTI government had derailed the proposed 26th Constitutional Amendment in 2022, which sought to declare Gilgit-Baltistan a provisional province of Pakistan. He said the federal government should now respond to India’s 2019 move in India-held Kashmir, adding that provisional provincial status for GB was the appropriate course.