- Web
- 18 Minutes ago
Nawaz Sharif chairs meeting to finalise candidates for Gilgit-Baltistan polls
-
- Web Desk
- 1 Minute ago
ISLAMABAD, April 20: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif chaired a meeting of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) parliamentary board on Monday to consider party candidates for the upcoming Gilgit-Baltistan assembly elections.
The 23-member board, headed by Nawaz Sharif, is considering selecting candidates to contest the polls scheduled for June 7.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif were among senior leaders who attended the meeting, along with party Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Khawaja Saad Rafique and PML-N’s Gilgit-Baltistan President Hafiz Hafeez-ur-Rehman.
Officials said the board would review applications and deliberate on nominations before finalising party tickets.
The Gilgit-Baltistan Election Commission earlier said that polling will take place across the mountainous region on June 7, after elections initially scheduled for January 24 were postponed due to severe winter conditions.
Gilgit-Baltistan Election Commissioner Raja Shahbaz told The Punch that the local body elections will be held on June 14 after the assembly elections were complete.
The Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly was dissolved on November 24, 2025, completing the term of the previous government.
The upcoming vote will be the fourth since the Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order 2009 granted the region limited political autonomy.
Under that framework, the Pakistan People’s Party formed the first regional government, followed by PML-N after the 2015 elections, while the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf emerged as the largest party in 2020 before subsequent political changes.
The latest announcement sets the stage for a new electoral contest in the strategically important region.
You May Also Like
