IPP’s Aleem Khan backs PPP in G-B govt formation after talks with Bilawal

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday secured the formal backing of the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) to form a coalition government in Gilgit-Baltistan, following a telephonic contact with Aleem Khan.

During the phone call, Bilawal formally invited IPP President Aleem Khan to join the regional government and sought his party’s support for the upcoming votes for the region’s top legislative slots.

Aleem Khan accepted the offer, confirming that the IPP’s six lawmakers would vote alongside the PPP.

“We will support the PPP in the elections for the chief minister, speaker, and other constitutional positions,” Aleem Khan said, describing the discussion with Bilawal as positive and pleasant.

“We will ensure these candidates are elected with a heavy majority.”

The development cements the PPP’s position hours before the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly votes to elect its new leadership.

Earlier on Monday, 30 newly elected members of the 33-seat region’s sixth assembly were sworn in by outgoing Speaker Nazir Ahmed Advocate during a morning session.

The legislature was subsequently adjourned until 3 pm to conduct the leadership elections.

The results of three constituencies — one in Skardu and two in Diamer — remain legally contested, leaving those seats temporarily vacant.

Following the June 7 regional polls, the PPP emerged as the largest party with 13 seats, followed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with nine, and the IPP with six. The Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) and a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed independent hold one seat each.

With the combined support of the PML-N and the IPP, the PPP-led coalition commands a comfortable majority in the house. Under the power-sharing arrangement, the PPP has nominated Amjad Hussain Advocate for Chief Minister and Imran Nadeem for Speaker, while PML-N’s Malik Kifayat has been slotted for the Deputy Speaker position.