Chilas: PPP protest over Form 48 delay shuts Karakoram Highway

CHILAS: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has staged strong protests in Gilgit-Baltistan’s GB-16 Diamer-II constituency over what it described as an “unusual delay” in the issuance of Form 48, triggering a blockade of the Karakoram Highway and causing major disruption to traffic and commuters.

PPP workers first held a sit-in outside the District Returning Officer (DRO) office in Chilas before moving their protest onto the Karakoram Highway, where they blocked the main artery linking Gilgit-Baltistan with the rest of the country. The closure, which continued late into the night, left travellers stranded and created long queues of vehicles on both sides of the highway.

Party representatives said the delay in issuing Form 48 was “raising serious doubts and suspicions” about the transparency of the electoral process. They announced that the protest would continue until the document was released in a transparent manner.

According to election updates, Form 47 for the constituency has already been issued, showing independent candidate Syed Imam Malik leading with a narrow margin of 24 votes. However, PPP candidate Attaullah has rejected the results and also opposed the Election Commission’s decision to hold re-polling in four polling stations scheduled for June 15.

The Chief Election Commissioner of Gilgit-Baltistan had ordered fresh polling in the affected stations as part of ongoing electoral dispute resolution. However, Attaullah maintained that polling was conducted on June 7 in the presence of polling agents and Form 45 had already been issued, forming the basis of Form 47.

He further argued that only postal ballots remained to be counted and that delaying their inclusion while ordering re-polling was unacceptable.

“The re-polling decision is completely rejected. Form 47 has been prepared based on Form 45, and now only postal votes remain,” he said, insisting that the electoral process had already been completed.

Meanwhile, the closure of the Karakoram Highway caused severe hardship for passengers and transporters, with long traffic queues reported on both sides. Local administration has so far failed to reopen the road, while negotiations with protesters continue amid rising tensions in the region.