Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) forward bloc leader Haji Gul Bar Khan has been elected as the chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) on Thursday. The election took place in the G-B Assembly, where Khan received 19 votes from the provincial members of the assembly (MPAs).
Election Boycott by Other Candidates
Raja Azam Khan, Javed Ali Manwa, and Raja Muhammad Zakria Maqpoon, the three other candidates running for the position of chief minister, boycotted the election. Khan, who was elected on a PTI ticket in 2020 and has previously served as the health minister, hails from Diamer District.
Disqualification of Former Chief Minister and Khalid Khurshid
The elections were held due to the disqualification of former G-B chief minister Khalid Khurshid earlier this month. The disqualification came after Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MPA Ghulam Shahzad Agha challenged Khurshid’s degree in court. On July 4, Khurshid was disqualified for obtaining a license from the bar council based on a fake degree. Notably, Khurshid is also a PTI leader and serves as the party’s regional president.
After the disqualification of the former chief minister, the strength of the G-B Assembly decreased to 32 parliamentarians.
