Bilawal calls for GB and AJK elections to be held with general elections

Shigar: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday called for elections in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir to be held alongside Pakistan’s general elections, saying such a move would strengthen public sovereignty and democratic representation.

Addressing an election rally in Shigar’s GBA-12 constituency ahead of the June 7 polls in Gilgit-Baltistan, the Pakistan Peoples Party chairman said true public sovereignty could only be ensured if elections in the region were conducted simultaneously with national elections.

Bilawal said the PPP remained committed to securing the rights of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan and ensuring free, fair and transparent elections. He urged voters to protect their mandate and expressed hope that no seats would be “stolen” during the upcoming polls.

Criticising what he described as an Islamabad-centric approach to governance, Bilawal said some political forces wanted to run Gilgit-Baltistan, Gwadar and Karachi from the federal capital.

“I want the decisions of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan to be made by you, not by a babu sitting in Islamabad,” he told supporters.

The PPP chief argued that greater local authority would help accelerate economic development and empower communities to address their own challenges.

He also said that if the federation was facing financial constraints, it should consider shutting down ministries dealing with Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir before reducing resources available to the regions.

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Highlighting the party’s welfare initiatives, Bilawal defended the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), claiming that only the PPP could protect the scheme from attempts to weaken it.

He alleged that other political parties wanted to end the programme indirectly by transferring it to provincial governments, arguing that welfare programmes of this nature are typically managed by federal governments around the world.

Bilawal said he had promoted BISP internationally during his tenure as foreign minister and presented it as a model for supporting low-income communities.

Reiterating his demand for transparent elections in Gilgit-Baltistan, the PPP chairman urged voters to safeguard their votes and election results.

“Even today, our demand is that transparent elections should be held in Gilgit-Baltistan,” he said, calling on supporters to protect their mandate during the June 7 polls.