Bilawal reaches Gilgit from Skardu after his visit to Iran, where he attended the chief minister’s swearing‑in ceremony, originally scheduled for July 1. He plans to decide the composition of the cabinet.
In Gilgit, advocate Amjad Hussain, the chief minister‑elect of Gilgit‑Baltistan, is scheduled to take the oath of office on Monday in Chinar Bagh. The ceremony was postponed after his party chairman and former foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto‑Zardari, traveled to Iran to attend Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral.
The PPP chairman returned from Tehran on Sunday, arrived in Skardu, and was received by Governor Syed Mehdi Shah, the chief minister‑elect Amjad Hussain, and senior PPP leaders before continuing onward to Gilgit.
Hussain was elected unopposed as Leader of the House in the Gilgit‑Baltistan Assembly on June 22.
According to the chairman’s schedule, he will attend a memorial honoring the martyrs of the Gilgit‑Baltistan War of Independence and will address the assembled crowd.
Later, Governor Shah will administer the oath to Chief Minister‑elect Hussain. Attendees will include the PPP’s central and local leadership, members of the Gilgit‑Baltistan Assembly, government officials, and a sizable number of party workers.
Cabinet composition
During his visit, sources indicated that the PPP chairman would also deliberate and finalize the composition of the Gilgit‑Baltistan cabinet.
The PPP has chosen to include the Istehkam‑i‑Pakistan Party (IPP) in the government, having received its support for the chief minister‑candidate.
The sources reported that both parties have agreed to allocate three ministries to the IPP.
The PML‑N also backed the PPP’s chief minister‑candidate following an agreement between the central leaderships of the two parties.
Under the agreement, the deputy speaker’s position has been assigned to a PML‑N member, and the party will also receive the governorship and the opposition leadership role in the Gilgit‑Baltistan Assembly.
Re-polling
In a separate development, the Gilgit‑Baltistan Supreme Appellate Court ordered a re‑polling at Loshi Polling Station in GBA‑15, Diamer.
GB Supreme Appellate Court Chief Judge Justice Sardar Muhammad Shamim had reserved his verdict on an election petition contesting the GBA‑15 result, as recorded in Form 47. The petition was filed by JUI‑F candidate Waliur Rehman.
Independent candidate Dilpazeer Khan was declared the returned candidate according to Form 47.
After hearing arguments from both parties and representatives of the Election Commission, the chief judge reserved his decision on Thursday.
On Saturday, the Supreme Appellate Court directed the GB chief election commissioner to promptly announce a new schedule and conduct a re‑poll at the Loshi Thak female polling station in accordance with the law.
The judge also ordered re‑polling at eight polling stations in GBA‑17, Diamer.
During the hearing of three separate election petitions on Thursday, proceedings in the GBA‑9 Skardu case were adjourned until Monday.
Earlier, the chief judge suspended the election results of independent candidate Dilpazeer Khan of GBA‑15 Diamer—who later joined the IPP—and of PPP candidate Fida Muhammad Nashad of GBA‑9 Skardu.
In all three cases, the court directed the relevant authorities to keep the election results suspended until its final decisions.
