Pakistan People Party (PPP) regional chapter President/Member Assembly AmjadHussain Advocate during his discussion with the journalist at the event organized at “Awan-e-Sahafat” by the Union Journalists Gilgit (UJG) on completion of one year period of present cabinet of the UJG has said that his party seeks for months early election of the regional Assembly i.efour months in advance from the date of completion of five tenure of the Assembly. He further said that if the early elections may not be happened, elections would be further delayed and claimed that there was concesnus for holding of early elections in the region. He further said that incumbent government by approving the draft bill pertaining to conferment of ownership rights of the lands has made his party politics as irreverent. PPP regional chapter said that PML-N was making its efforts at federal level to include the issue pertaining to conferment of provisional province status to the area in the proposed constitutionalamendment bill.
Incumbent Assembly of the area would complete its five year tenure in the month of November 2025 and according to the existing practice, an interim government would be installed in the region for a period of 60 days and election of the regional Assembly would be held under the arrangement of interim government and next general elections of the region would be held in the month of April/May 2025. Now the PPP regional chapter President AmjadHussain Advocate has said that his party desires that election of the region Assembly would be held four months in advance before the completion of five year tenure of the incumbent Assembly, otherwise, elections would be further delayed. PPP regional chapter President has also explained that present government has approved the land reforms bill through which ownership rights would be conferred to the people and this decision of the regional government has made the PPP politics as irrelevant. As regards to the conferment of provisional province status to the area and inclusion the issue in the proposed constitutional amendment, he said that PML-N was making its efforts at federal level and his party was not in the government. It may be pertinent to mention here that 26th constitutionalamendment was proposed during the tenure of PTI led federal government for conferment provisional province status to the area, but this amendment could not be materialized and now the incumbent federal government intends to get passed the 26thconstitutionalamendment bill from the parliament of the country by terming it as judicial reforms and Gilgit-Baltistan legal status issue was not included in the draft bill being circulated in the social media. Inclusion of Gilgit-Baltistan’s legal status in the proposed constitutional amendment bill was too essential like that of judicial reforms, therefore, all the major political parties of the region whose parties were supporting the proposed constitutionalamendment have to convince their party leadership to include the G-B legal status issue in the said bill, so that the long-standing issue of the region could be resolved. It may be imperative to explain here that it was constant demand of the people of the area that the region be included/merged with the federation of Pakistan in terms of Article 1 of the Constitution o Pakistan-1973 and now the right time has come that this issue be settled once for all.We would urge to the regional chapter leaders of major political parties of the country to convince their party leadership for conferment of provisional province status to the territory of Gilgit-Baltistan through the upcoming constitutional amendment bill, which would be in the interest of the country
