By Kalbe Ali in The Dawn, Nov 14 ISLAMABAD, Nov 13: Government interference, weak administration, procedural irregularities and erroneous voter lists characterised the Gilgit-Baltistan polls, a report issued by a coalition of NGOs has said. The report which is based on preliminary findings and pre-election analysis has been compiled by the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen). It says significant changes will be necessary for future elections in Gilgit-Baltistan to meet national and international standards.…
Posts published in November 2009
The Dawn, Nov 14 GILGIT / SKARDU, Nov 13: The Pakistan People’s Party has won 12 of 23 contested seats and became the largest party in the 33-seat Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly, according to unofficial results released by the region’s Election Commission. PML-N secured only two seats. The result in one constituency was withheld after the polling agent of an independent candidate was killed in a clash in Darel of the southern Diamer district on Thursday…
The Daily Times, Nov 14 The voting for the first-ever Legislative Assembly elections in the Gilgit-Baltistan region was conducted in a largely peacefully fashion on Thursday. Despite some complaints of unfair means by opposition parties, the reported incidents of violence or rigging appear to bear an incidental character rather than a systematic pattern. The circles monitoring the electioneering in what were once known as the Northern Areas before the enactment of the Empowerment and Self-Governance…
By Tom Hussain in the National, UAE GAKUCH, Gilgit: An electoral constituency in a remote, northern extremity of Pakistan has risen to national political prominence as the setting for a contest between a hereditary spiritual leader and a separatist ideologue. The protagonists, Pir (saint) Karam Ali Shah and Nawaz Naji, are, socially, chalk and cheese. Mr Shah is the 48th hereditary Pir, or living saint, of a family that traces its roots back to Jalauddin…
By Tom Hussain in the National, UAE GILGIT: A regional poll on Thursday in Pakistan’s northern territory of Gilgit-Baltistan is being fiercely contested by all the major political parties, despite residents’ ineligibility to vote in national elections. The result is far less predictable than in previous elections, when only two of the country’s major parties, the Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Muslim League, had contested, alongside local independent candidates. But with the restoration of full…
The Dawn, Nov 13 GILGIT / SKARDU, Nov 12: The first elections for the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly were held largely peacefully across the region on Thursday, with no major incident of violence reported during the polling. According to unofficial results announced around midnight, the PPP appeared poised to win a majority in the assembly. Despite chilly weather, people in large numbers came out to cast their vote to elect their representatives to the assembly that…
The Daily Times, Nov 13 ISLAMABAD: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the PML-Quaid on Thursday alleged the PPP-led government of rigging the Gilgit-Baltistan elections. Speaking on points of order in the National Assembly, MQM MNA Haider Abbas Rizvi, PML-N legislator Ahsan Iqbal and PML-Q leader Amir Muqam alleged the government of pre-polled rigging by announcing development packages before the polls. They said there were reports of polling of bogus…
By Tariq Naqash in The Dawn, Nov 13 MUZAFFARABAD, Nov 12: Activists of the All Parties National Alliance (Apna), a conglomerate of over a dozen nationalist organisations and groups of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, staged a demonstration here on Thursday, condemning alleged attempts by Islamabad to perpetuate its rule in Gilgit-Baltistan by holding “mock elections” in the region. The peaceful demonstration, which began from Upper Adda and concluded at Press Club, coincided with…
By Maqsood Tirmizi in The Nation, Dec 12 ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Muslim League (N) Wednesday staged a token walkout in the National Assembly over dilly-dally attitude of the government in tabling the draft Accountability Bill in the House. Earlier, the opposition parties jointly staged another walkout over the issue of government’s indifference attitude towards the MPs’ queries about the paddy procurement. Talking on a point of order, Opposition Leader Ch. Nisar Ali Khan said the…
By Farman Ali in The Dawn, Nov 12 ISLAMABAD, Nov 11: The people of Gilgit-Baltistan will go to the polls on Thursday to elect a new legislative assembly that will enjoy more powers under political reforms introduced by the government recently to accord the region more autonomy. More than 250 candidates are in the running for 23 seats. The winners will elect members for nine reserved seats — six for women and three for technocrats.…
The Business Recorder, Nov 12 At long last democracy is knocking at the door of Gilgit-Baltistan. The people of this region announced their accession to Pakistan just 11 weeks after the creation of Pakistan, on October 30, 1947 by physically throwing out the Dogra governor Gansara Singh, but democracy took 62 years to reach here. The problem, that still remains, is that under the Karachi Agreement, their political future is linked with Azad Jammu and…