GILGIT – MERAJ ALAM – The Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) government has failed to close doors on members of banned organization planning to contest upcoming elections. According to sources, all members of banned organizations were able to file their nominations papers for general elections of legislative assembly, as the ban imposed earlier wasn’t effective. Official in Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) office has said that provincial government cannot impose the ban on any political organization; it is the…
Posts published in May 2015
The writer is a senior research fellow at the University of Karachi. ON June 8, Gilgit-Baltistan goes to the polls for elections to its legislative assembly. Already in the run-up to the polls, two major contestants — the PML-N and PPP — have started accusing each other of pre-poll rigging. While PPP considers the PML-N’s act of installing a governor before the election as tantamount to a conspiracy, PML-N accuses previous governor and PPP leader…
By Shabbir Mir in The Express Tribune, May 07, 2015 GILGIT: A controversial ‘decree’ barring women in Darel Valley from voting in legislative assembly elections in Gilgit-Baltistan was retracted on Wednesday. As a result, women will be allowed to vote for the very first time in Darel. The decision was taken on Wednesday after Darel AC Samiullah Farooqi assured community elders that separate polling booths for women will be established where only women will be…
Jumping ship: ANP’s Aurangzeb Khan switches to PML-N
By Shabbir Mir in The Express Tribune, May 11th, 2015. GILGIT: A senior leader of Awami National Party in Gilgit-Baltistan joined Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz on Sunday, boosting the ranks of the latter ahead of June 8 elections. “My decision to join PML-N reflects acceptance for Nawaz Sharif’s policy for this region,” said Advocate Aurangzeb Khan during a ceremony at the PML-N Secretariat in Gilgit. He promised to work for the betterment of the people under…