Pakistan wants to hold elections in Gilgit-Baltistan

Announcing the election on November 15

-Pakistani army will capture the regime?

New Delhi Dated 25th September 2020 Friday

Opposition groups called for a boycott of the by-elections in Gilgit and Baltistan on November 15.

Pakistan's army chief General Bajwa recently convened a meeting of all opposition parties in the country and sought their cooperation in holding elections in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. At the same time, he threatened that any political party that did not cooperate with the army would have to face dire consequences.

Political observers believed that the Pakistani army was once again in the throes of capturing the country's rule, meaning that the fall of Imran Khan's government was imminent. However, the announcement made by General Bajwa was later opposed by Maryam Nawaz and Bilawal Bhutto in a public meeting.

According to a report published in Pakistan's Daily Express Tribune, only three major parties will be involved in the upcoming Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly elections. Imran Khan's PTI, Nawaz Sharif's PML and Bilawal Bhutto's PPP. The Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly will have 33 seats, three of which will be reserved for technocrats and six for women. That means elections will be held for a total of 24 seats.

Apparently this election was taking place at the behest of General Bajwa. At the behest of General Bajwa, the Pakistani government announced that seven lakh people would cast their votes in the elections, of which 45 per cent were women. This was the biggest step taken by Pakistan in its occupied Kashmir since India destroyed the special status of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5 last year. However, tensions were running high between General Bajwa and Pakistan's organized opposition parties over the issue.