- Bilawal addresses a public meeting in Ghizer, Britain, ahead of the election.
- I couldn’t legislate for GB without a majority: Bilawal.
- Other parties will not allow PPP legislation to pass: PPP chief.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has urged the residents of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) to give his party a clear mandate in the upcoming elections on June 7.
As part of his election campaign, Bilawal addressed a public meeting in Ghizer, Britain on Thursday.
“A mandate from Gilgit is needed so that we can go to Islamabad and say that before creating another province, the voice of Gilgit must be heard,” he told attendees.
The PPP chief said that jiyala A Prime Minister (PPP loyalist) is needed in Britain to ensure land ownership rights for local residents.
Bilawal asserted that the PPP requires a majority mandate in the upcoming elections to implement the property law, adding that otherwise the party would not be able to legislate for Gilgit-Baltistan.
He further said that whether it is the PML-N or any other party, they would not allow the PPP legislation to be passed.
“It is necessary to form a PPP government so that the people here can obtain property rights. The cultivable lands are currently divisible and must be made available to the people,” he added.
GB will go to the polls on June 7 to elect its fourth Legislative Assembly. The Gilgit-Baltistan (Empowerment and Self-Government) Order of 2009, issued by President Asif Ali Zardari, was aimed at granting the region autonomy to govern itself.
In GB, there are 963,034 registered voters, 506,097 men and 456,937 women, an increase of 29% since 2020. The gender gap between male and female voters has narrowed from 8% in 2020 to 4%.
Despite a visible increase in population, as reflected in the increase in the number of registered voters, there has been no new delimitation in the region since 1994. An Electoral Commission source attributed this to the region’s census being kept confidential.
