PPP will make people of Gilgit-Baltistan ‘owners of their fate’, vows Bilawal

Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday pledged sweeping political, constitutional, and economic rights for Gilgit-Baltistan. He said the region should receive the same powers granted to other provinces under the 18th Constitutional Amendment, including control over resources and governance, and vowed that his party would ensure the people of G-B become “owners of their own fate.”

Addressing a rally in Shigar ahead of the June 7 elections, Bilawal said the PPP’s long-standing position was to strengthen provincial-style autonomy for the region and ensure that local people become “owners of their fate”.

He said the core demand of the people was clear: “The desire of the people of G-B, the demand of the people of G-B, is that the benefits of the 18th Amendment, the rights of the 18th Amendment, the ownership of resources and those powers that other provinces enjoy should also be given to the people of G-B.”

Bilawal further said that any future constitutional reform must explicitly safeguard and advance the rights of G-B, framing it as a critical opportunity for institutional change.

“And that, only and only, Pakistan Peoples Party,” he said, before adding that if “there is to be a constitutional amendment, then in this constitutional amendment, it is very important to get the rights of the people of G-B protected.”

He said this process should be used to “take their efforts forward,” particularly in extending political and constitutional rights to the region.

Bilwal raised criticism of what he described as excessive centralisation of authority in Islamabad, which he said had harmed local governance in peripheral regions.

“They want to run everything from Islamabad,” he said. “They want to run Gwadar from Islamabad. They want to run Karachi from Islamabad.”

He argued that decisions about G-B must be taken locally rather than by federal authorities.

“The decisions of G-B should be made by the people of G-B,” he said, adding that the people of Shigar, Khaplu, Diamer, Gilgit and Skardu had repeatedly suffered when decisions were imposed from outside.

“You are suffering,” he told supporters, adding that whenever “all the decisions of your fate… are made in Islamabad, you have suffered a loss.”

He went further, calling for institutional restructuring and even the abolition of federal administrative control over the region.

“If the federation is bankrupt, then first of all, the Ministry of Azad Kashmir and G-B should be shut down,” he said. “They should be shut down and all the power, meaning financial, political, and administrative power, should be given to the assemblies sitting in Muzaffarabad and Gilgit.”

He said such a transfer of authority would make local communities “owners of their fate”.

Linking political autonomy with economic empowerment, Bilawal said G-B’s natural resources must be controlled by its own people.

“These mountains in front of you, these resources beneath your land… these are not theirs, these are your resources,” he said. “These are the resources of the people of your heart.”

He argued that ownership and decision-making power would directly translate into prosperity.

“If the people of your heart are given the power to make their own decisions, if they are given ownership of their own resources, then you will benefit economically, you will be financially independent, you will be economically strong.”

He said If the people of G-B progress economically, then Islamabad would also progress.

Drawing on Sindh’s development experience, he cited the Thar coal project as an example, saying that first the people of Tharparkar, then the people of Sindh, and then the people of Pakistan will benefit.

Bilawal also strongly emphasised electoral participation and transparency, urging voters to actively safeguard the polling process.

“My brothers and sisters, it is your responsibility that you have to come out on election day, reach the polling station, cast your vote and take that form 45 in your hand and then go home,” he said.

He also referred to election results documentation, saying, “You make arrangements for Form 45, and God willing, I will make arrangements for Form 47.”

He insisted the PPP had never sought power through undemocratic means and had only sought free and fair elections. “We have never asked anyone to select us.”

“Last time, nine seats were stolen from me,” he said, adding that despite limited representation, PPP lawmakers had continued to raise public issues in the assembly.

Reaffirming the party’s ideological messaging, Bilawal invoked PPP’s founding slogan, saying, “Bread, Cloth and Home is our fundamental philosophy.”

He said the state had a responsibility to support marginalised communities economically and socially, adding, “For the people, especially the backward ones, they should be helped economically, morally.”

He also pledged employment and property rights for residents of G-B.

“We have to give rights to the people of G-B. We have to give rights to property. And we have to make their right to employment a reality,” he said.

Earlier, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Bilawal arrived in Skardu to lead their party campaigns for the upcoming G-B elections as the polling campaign enters its final phase.

In a statement on X, Barrister Gohar said he had reached the region to participate in what he described as a crucial political contest for the future of democracy in G-B. He was welcomed by party workers and supporters, and is expected to take part in a series of campaign activities across Skardu and surrounding areas in the coming days.

“This election is not merely a struggle for power but a decision about the future of democracy in G-B” the PTI chairman said. He added that the party’s campaign was focused on reaching voters across the region and conveying PTI founder Imran Khan’s message to every city, town, and village, and engaging with citizens from “all walks of life.”

Barrister Gohar said PTI was presenting its policy priorities, including economic development, good governance, and social justice, while appealing for public support.

He also alleged that the party was facing restrictions during its campaign. “Despite our election symbol being taken away, leaders being stopped and exiled, and our campaign being restricted while others operate freely, we continue our efforts,” he said.

He further remarked, “It is as if we are being portrayed as unpatriotic or non-Pakistani, but we leave that judgment to the public.”

Calling for a peaceful and disciplined campaign, the chairman said the party remained confident in public support and trusted the people to seek their mandate based on “our vision, performance, and spirit of public service.”

Meanwhile, Bilawal was received at the airport by PPP Secretary General Nayyar Bukhari, PPP G-B Secretary General Humayun Khan, G-B Governor Syed Mehdi Shah, Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan, and other party leaders.

He was also welcomed by PPP Central Information Secretary Nadeem Afzal Chan, Najmuddin Khan and other party office-bearers.

Senior leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and PTI have also reached the region to spearhead campaign activities. PML-N leaders including Khawaja Saad Rafique, Khurram Dastgir Khan, and Abid Sher Ali, are among party leaders who will lead the party’s campaign in Gilgit.

Rafique addressed a series of public rallies across G-B on Sunday as part of his party’s campaign drive. Other senior leaders of the ruling coalition, including federal ministers Attaullah Tarar and Amir Muqam, have also remained active in electioneering across multiple districts.

Read: Tensions mount in G-B ahead of vote

Meanwhile, PTI cited the unrestricted movement and campaigning of rival political leaders as evidence of what it described as unequal treatment during the election process. Allegations of pre-poll rigging, selective administrative restrictions, and institutional friction have intensified amid the upcoming election, raising fresh questions about the fairness of the electoral environment in the strategically significant region.

On Friday, senior PTI leader Asad Qaiser claimed that he was prevented from reaching Islamabad Airport and missed his flight to Skardu for the election campaign. Following the incident, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Mohammad Sohail Afridi wrote to the chief justice of the Supreme Appellate Court of G-B, seeking immediate judicial intervention into the matter.

Authorities cited the absence of a required no-objection certificate (NOC) for public gatherings. PTI denounced the move as a targeted obstruction while police maintained that no arrests had been made.

In April, the G-B Election Commission announced that general elections in the region would be held on June 7, 2026, after a four-month delay. Initially scheduled for January 24, 2026, the elections were postponed indefinitely due to harsh weather conditions in the region.

Punjab Police confirmed on Sunday that more than 5,000 personnel would be deployed for election duty in G-B.