GILGIT: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Advocate Amjad Hussain was elected unopposed as the new Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan on Monday, completing the process of forming a new government in the region. The development came during the first session of the newly elected Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly, where the oath-taking ceremony of the assembly members and elections of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Leader of the House were held on the same day.
The assembly session began in the morning, in which 21 elected members who won the recent elections, six members elected to reserved seats for women and three technocrats took the oath. The results of three constituencies are still pending due to legal and electoral procedures.
Later, the assembly session resumed, and the schedule for the elections of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker was issued. Imran Nadeem Shugri of the Pakistan Peoples Party was elected speaker while Malik Kifayat-ur-Rehman of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) was elected deputy speaker. No other candidate filed nomination papers for both posts, due to which they were declared elected unopposed.
After taking the oath, the new Speaker, Imran Nadeem Shugri, issued the schedule for the election of the Leader of the House and fixed the time for filing nomination papers. By the stipulated time, only Advocate Amjad Hussain of the PPP submitted his nomination papers, while no candidate from any other party or independent member came forward.
The Speaker announced at 8 pm that Advocate Amjad Hussain has been elected as the chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan unopposed. With his election, the process of forming a new political administration in the region was completed.
According to political observers, the support of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and the Pakistan Stability Party played an important role in the formation of the PPP government. In the recent elections, the PPP had emerged as the largest party with 13 seats, while the Muslim League (N) had won nine and the Pakistan Stability Party six seats.
During the assembly session, the local president of the Muslim League (N), Hafiz Hafeez-ur-Rehman, was declared the Leader of the Opposition. A formal application was submitted by the opposition members in this regard, after which the Speaker announced his name.
A large number of political workers, journalists, guests and leaders of various parties were present in the assembly hall. Slogans were also raised in favour of the successful candidates, while PPP central leaders Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, Qamar Zaman Kaira and Gilgit-Baltistan Governor Syed Mehdi Shah and other dignitaries were present in the VIP gallery.
After the formation of the new government, the focus will now be on the development projects of the region, improvement in governance and resolution of public problems. Political circles are expecting that the cooperation of the coalition parties will promote political stability and administrative efficiency in Gilgit-Baltistan.
