GB poll body validates Hafeezur Rehman as PML-N president

GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan Election Commission on Wednesday disposed of a petition challenging the authority of former chief minister Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) regional president.

The dispute arose following a notice (No. ELC-1(44)/2021) issued by the Gilgit-Baltistan Election Commission Secretariat on September 18, 2024. The notice directed Hafeezur Rehman to submit details of the intra-party elections and provide relevant documents related to the PML-N office-bearers in the region.

However, a group of over 20 senior PML-N leaders contested the notice, arguing that no formal intra-party elections had been held to confirm Rehman’s position as regional president. The petitioners approached the commission, seeking clarification on the legitimacy of his appointment.

In their application, the petitioners pointed out that the central leadership of PML-N, including party President Nawaz Sharif and Chief Organizer Maryam Nawaz Sharif, were aware of the internal disputes within the PML-N’s Gilgit-Baltistan chapter. During a workers’ convention on September 16, 2023, in Islamabad, both leaders verbally committed to reorganizing the party structure and conducting intra-party elections in Gilgit-Baltistan as soon as possible.

On September 26, the Election Commission sought verification from the PML-N central secretariat in Lahore regarding Rehman’s leadership. In response, PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal confirmed that Hafeezur Rehman had been duly elected as president of the party’s Gilgit-Baltistan chapter following intra-party elections held in 2020.

Following this confirmation, Chief Election Commissioner Raja Shahbaz Khan dismissed the petition, stating that the petitioners could raise any further grievances with the party’s central leadership if needed.

Speaking to the media after the hearing, Hafeezur Rehman’s legal team hailed the decision as a major victory against those trying to create unrest within the party. They extended their congratulations to the “real party workers” on this significant triumph.

Speaking to party workers at the PML-N secretariat in Gilgit after the verdict, Hafeezur Rehman said those who were removed from the party would not be included again at any cost. He said they repeatedly betrayed the party on political and sectarian grounds.

Meanwhile, the disgruntled leaders, in a joint statement, expressed their concerns about Hafeez’s position. They said they had challenged the notice declaring Hafeez as the provincial president, claiming he did not hold that position.

The statement explained that the Gilgit-Baltistan Election Commission had forwarded Hafeez’s notification, dated November 13, 2020, to the PML-N central secretariat. According to the PML-N’s constitution, the G-B leadership’s tenure is four years.

The leaders pointed out that the Chief Election Commissioner, in the previous hearing, clarified that the notification’s validity was nearing its end. “Even if the notification is genuine,” they said, “it will expire in 27 days, on November 13, 2024.”

They mentioned that the central leadership had assured them that the PML-N would be reorganized in Gilgit-Baltistan after this date, and Hafeez would be removed from his position.

The statement emphasized that PML-N is Nawaz Sharif’s party and soon, new faces would help strengthen the party at the Gilgit-Baltistan level.