Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari called on Monday for Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections to be held with Pakistan’s general elections.
Addressing an election rally in Shigar’s GBA-12 constituency, Bilawal said holding GB elections alongside national polls would strengthen public sovereignty.
The rally was part of PPP’s campaign for the June 7 Gilgit-Baltistan polls. Bilawal said his party remained committed to securing the rights of the region’s people and ensuring transparent elections.
He urged voters to protect their mandate and said he hoped no seats would be “stolen” in the upcoming polls.
Bilawal criticised what he called an Islamabad-centric approach to governance. He said some parties wanted to run Gilgit-Baltistan, Gwadar and Karachi from the federal capital.
لائیو: پاکستان پیپلزپارٹی کا گلگت بلتستان کے ضلع شگر کی تحصیل گلاب پور میں انتخابی جلسہ عام https://t.co/3ZcTAvlXAN
— PPP (@MediaCellPPP) June 1, 2026“I want the decisions of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan to be made by you, not by a babu sitting in Islamabad,” he said.
The PPP chairman said the local authority would support economic progress. He added that Shigar residents could achieve development if they were given decision-making power.
Bilawal said the federation should consider closing ministries dealing with Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir if it faced financial difficulties.
Read:Gilgit-Baltistan Elections Set For June 7 Vote
He also defended the Benazir Income Support Programme, saying only PPP could protect it. He alleged that other parties wanted to end the programme by devolving it to the provinces.
Bilawal again demanded free and transparent elections in Gilgit-Baltistan and urged voters to return with Form-45 in hand.
