LAHORE:
With a month to go until elections in Gilgit-Baltistan, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has revealed its list of candidates for 19 of 24 seats, intensifying the electoral contest with its coalition ally, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which had announced its candidates and priorities for the reserved seats earlier this week.
According to a notification issued by the party and signed by PML-N president Nawaz Sharif, tickets were given to several key figures of the party, including former Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister and PML-N GB president Hafeezur Rehman of GBA-2, Gilgit-II.
The announcement comes two days after the PPP released its full list of general and reserved seats, setting the stage for a high-stakes contest between the two ruling coalition partners in the federally administered territory.
According to the PML-N list, tickets for the match were awarded to Muhammad Shafiqud Din of GBA-1, Gilgit-I; Muhammad Ibrahim of GBA-22, Ghanche-I; Ghullam Muhammad of GBA-21, Ghizer-III; Abdul Jahan of GBA-20, Ghizer-II; Malik Kifayat of GBA-18, Diamer-IV; Muhammad Zaman of GBA-17, Diamer-III; Engineer Muhammad Anwar of GBA-16, Diamer-II; Abdul Wajid of GBA-15, Diamer-I; Rana Muhammad Farooq of GBA-14, Astore-II; Farman Ali of GBA-13, Astore-I; Muhammad Tahir Unahar Shigri of GBA-12, Shigar; Syed Mohsin Rizvi of GBA-11, Kharmang; Ajmal Hussain of GBA-9, Skardu-III; Imtiaz Haider Khan of GBA-8, Skardu-II; Muhammad Akbar Khan of GBA-7, Skardu-I; Prince Saleem of GBA-6, Hunza; and Mohammad Iqbal of GBA-3, Gilgit-III. The Gilgit-Baltistan party candidates were interviewed by Nawaz Sharif about two weeks ago after initial scrutiny by the parliamentary board.
On April 16, PML-N constituted a 23-member parliamentary board comprising Nawaz Sharif, Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, former Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, Captain Safdar and other senior leaders.
Earlier this week, the PPP also issued tickets to its candidates including Amjad Hussain Azar of GBLA-1 (Gilgit-I), Jameel Ahmed of GBLA-2 (Gilgit-II), Aftab Haider of GBLA-3 (Gilgit-III), Muhammad Ali Akhtar of GBLA-4 (Nagar-I), Zulfiqar Ali Murad of GBLA-5 (Nagar-II), Colonel (R) GBLA-11 (Kharmang) (Shigar), Major (R) Fahad Hanif Khan of GBLA-13 (Astore-I), Bashir Ahmed Khan of GBLA-15 (Diamer-I), Ataullah Shah of GBLA-16 (Diamer-II), Muhammad Naseem of GBLA-17 (Diamer-III), Pir Syed Jalal Ali Shah of GBLA-19 (Ghizer-I), Nazir Ahmed of GBLA-20 (Ghizer-II), Muhammad Ayub Shah of GBLA-21 (Ghizer-III), Dr. Ashiq Hussain of GBLA-22 (Ghanche-I) and Engineer Muhammad Ismail of GBLA-24 (Ghanche-III). A day later, Pakistan People’s Party (PPPP) parliamentarians announced additional candidates for the Gilgit-Baltistan elections, giving party tickets to Wazir Waqar for GBA-9 Skardu-III and Amna Ansari for GBA-23 Ghanche-II.
The party also released a priority list for reserved seats for women and seats for technocrats.
It is pertinent to mention here that while the PML-N enjoys an obvious advantage as the main ruling party at the Centre, the PPP, despite being a junior coalition partner at the federal level, remains a formidable contender in Gilgit-Baltistan due to its long-standing roots in the region.
According to PPP insiders, the party has also been working for a possible alliance with JUI-F in Gilgit-Baltistan to improve its chances of getting maximum number of seats.
Political observers are closely monitoring the upcoming elections in both Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir as they are expected to offer important signals on the evolving balance of power and direction of establishment-backed political currents.
