SKARDU / GILGIT-BALTISTAN, June 1, 2026: Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has pledged major political, constitutional and economic reforms for Gilgit-Baltistan, promising that the region should receive rights comparable to Pakistan’s provinces under the 18th Constitutional Amendment.
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Addressing a large election rally in Shigar, Gilgit-Baltistan, Bilawal said the people of the region must become “owners of their own fate” through control over governance, resources and decision-making.
Call for Provincial-Style Autonomy
Bilawal said the Pakistan Peoples Party Pakistan Peoples Party has long supported greater autonomy for Gilgit-Baltistan, arguing that local communities should have powers similar to those granted to provinces.
He said:
“The benefits of the 18th Amendment, ownership of resources and powers enjoyed by other provinces must also be given to the people of GB.”
He also criticised centralised governance from Islamabad, saying decisions about the region should be taken locally.
“Islamabad should not run everything”
Bilawal said governance of remote regions has suffered due to excessive federal control, adding that decisions affecting Gilgit-Baltistan should be made by its elected representatives.
He also suggested institutional restructuring, including transferring financial and administrative authority to local assemblies in Gilgit and Muzaffarabad.
Resource ownership and economic promise
Linking political rights with economic development, Bilawal stressed that natural resources of the region belong to local people.
He said empowering communities with ownership of land and resources would drive economic growth and employment, citing development models such as the Thar coal project in Sindh.
Election transparency and Form 45–47 remarks
The PPP chairman urged voters to actively safeguard electoral transparency during the June 7 elections, calling on them to collect polling results themselves.
“You make arrangements for Form 45, and I will make arrangements for Form 47,” he said, referring to Pakistan’s electoral result documentation system.
He also alleged past electoral irregularities, claiming PPP had previously been denied its due mandate.
Opposition campaign also intensifies
Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan Barrister Gohar Ali Khan also reached Skardu to lead his party’s campaign, calling the election crucial for the future of democracy in the region.
Multiple national leaders from major parties, including PML-N, have also arrived in Gilgit-Baltistan ahead of polling day.
Rising political temperature ahead of vote
Election campaigning has intensified across the region amid allegations of unequal political space, administrative restrictions, and pre-poll tensions.
Authorities have deployed thousands of security personnel to ensure orderly conduct of the vote scheduled for June 7.
