PML-N chief addresses meeting during day-long visit, vows to take region’s road, power and aviation issues to PM
PML-N President Nawaz Sharif addresses a public meeting in Gilgit-Baltistan on June 2, 2026. Screen recording
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday pledged to undertake major infrastructure, aviation and energy projects in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), saying he would take the region’s concerns directly to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, boosting long-awaited development initiatives.
At a public meeting in Britain, the former prime minister said he would seek federal measures to improve road infrastructure, expand Gilgit airport and address chronic electricity shortages in the region.
Highlighting the infrastructure deficits in the region, the PML-N chief said when he arrived in GB: “The state of the roads caused me great pain and sadness,” adding that he saw many potholes, and told people three or four times that seeing the roads made him very sad.
“Once, these roads were built with enthusiasm,” he said, adding that during his tenure, “they started the road from Mansehra and it was completed very well till Thakot.” However, he asked why it had not been completed up to Gilgit and why it did not continue beyond Gilgit to Chilas.
“I don’t want to speak against any party. I don’t want to criticize any government, but my heart forces me to ask: you had the opportunity to govern this country, so why did you neglect this region so much?” Nawaz said. He added that seeing the current state of GB makes him sad. “Why was he not given attention? What was the reason? His attention was focused elsewhere,” he said.
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Discussing the highway project further, Nawaz noted that during his tenure the highway was extended up to Skardu at a cost of nearly Rs 50 billion. “This is the right of the people of Gilgit, it is not a favor from me,” he said.
“My heart cries. Why was all this allowed to happen? Why was the money that should have been spent on you not spent on you? Where was that money spent?” Nawaz questioned, pointing out that if hospitals were built in the region, it was the PML-N that built them, applying the same to power plants and hydroelectric projects, along with the Jaglot-Skardu project, all of which he claimed were initiated and completed by his party.
“Tell me the name of any other party who has laid the foundation stone of a project here or started construction of a road here,” Nawaz said. Referring to a four-lane road from Islamabad to Mansehra which he claimed should have been extended to GB, the former prime minister claimed that he was sorry to say that even the airport remains exactly as it was during his tenure. “It has not been expanded or improved, the flights remain the same,” Nawaz said, adding that the airport should have been expanded so that jet planes could land there, just as they do in Skardu.
“If that has not happened yet, then I feel very sorry and I express my pain to you from the bottom of my heart,” he said. Nawaz added that he had flown to the region on a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane, and asked how many flights operate in the region in a week and said it should be 30.
The PML-N chief assured those present that he would meet Prime Minister Shehbaz and ask him to expand the airport, creating the capacity for planes to land and take off from the region. Saying that the travel time from Gilgit to Skardu had been reduced from nine to three hours, Nawaz claimed that the group had saved the people of Gilgit six hours of travel time. “How many opportunities have we created for you and your children? Fulfilling this was one of our deepest aspirations,” he said.
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Talking about the Lowari tunnel in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) connecting Dir and Chitral, Nawaz claimed that the project had remained unfinished for 30-40 years before it was completed during his tenure. “But here projects start and then never seem to come to an end,” he added, noting that electricity projects in the region remain of particular concern to him due to electricity shortages despite abundant water resources.
Extending his gratitude to his brother, the PML-N chief stated, “I appreciate Shehbaz Sharif who has allocated 100 megawatts for solar power here,” but noted that he would tell the prime minister that “20 to 22 hours of load shedding in winter is not acceptable, and neither is 10 to 12 hours of load shedding in summer.”
“Others may find it acceptable, but I don’t,” Nawaz said, assuring those present that he would speak to Prime Minister Shehbaz as soon as he returned to Pakistan. “Whether the solution is found or not, only God knows, but we do not deprive you of these things,” he said.
He concluded his speech by saying that he will continue to come to GB “every two or three months” to start the projects in question. “I would like them to be completed under my own supervision and surveillance,” the former prime minister added.
Nawaz arrived in Britain on a one-day visit amid the ongoing campaign for the upcoming elections on June 7. Upon arrival, he was received by Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Amir Muqam, former Chief Minister of Britain Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman, Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar along with other party leaders.
Federal ministers including Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanaullah along with Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Punjab Chief Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Senator Anusha Rahman and Kazim Pirzada accompanied Nawaz during his visit.
While in Britain, the PML-N president will meet party leaders and party ticket holders contesting the elections.
A day ago, the Election Commission issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) authorizing Nawaz to visit Britain to launch his election campaign. The elections, which will be held on June 7, have prompted major political parties to make a final push to mobilize voters across the region before campaigning officially ends later this week.
However, allegations by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf that the party had been banned from campaigning raised the political temperature in the region.
In the notification issued by Britain’s Electoral Commission Secretariat, Britain’s chief electoral commissioner granted permission for Nawaz’s visit on Tuesday, “to engage in election-related activities.”
It added that the NOC was subject to strict compliance with the Electoral Act 2017, applicable electoral laws and regulations and the Code of Conduct for the General Elections 2026. “Any violation thereof will entail legal consequences under the relevant electoral laws and may lead to appropriate proceedings against the candidates concerned and other persons responsible for such violation,” it stated.
