Opposition front against Imran Khan over election decision in Gilgit-Baltistan

Islamabad, Ta. 04 October 2020 Sunday

Protests have erupted in Gilgit-Baltistan over Pakistan's Imran Khan's decision to hold elections. Imran Khan says holding elections in Gilgit-Baltistan will give the people there their constitutional rights. However, the opposition has rallied to protest.

Opposition parties in Pakistan, including PML-N, Nawaz, Muslim Conference, People's Party of Pakistan, Jamaat-e-Islami, Azad Kashmir People's Party and other political forces, have made it clear that the results will not be good if elections are held in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Opposition forces said that making the two areas a province of Pakistan would prove disastrous for the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir. The Imran government will need a two-thirds majority to prove its majority. On the issue, Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and ISI chief Lieutenant General Faiz Hamid met with 15 senior opposition leaders last month.

Opposition forces have asked Imran Khan to support the decision, although the opposition PML-N has refused to allow its members to meet with members of the army. Shaukat Ali Kashmiri, chairman of the United Kashmir People's National Party in Geneva, Switzerland, says China is pressuring the Pakistani military to do so.