Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) forward bloc leader Gulbar Khan was elected as the new chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan on Thursday, days after controversy marred elections for the top post.
Gulbar, who secured 19 votes out of 20 members present in the House, was elected unopposed as three other candidates for the post withdrew their nomination papers.
An independent lawmaker, Nawaz Khan Naji, MPs from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) abstained from voting in support of the new chief minister.
All 11 members of PTI’s ‘Ham Khyaal Group’ boycotted the polls, alleging rigging.
The election for the coveted post began after the region’s highest court disqualified former Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid for holding a fake degree.
After his ouster, the PTI split into two factions – the Forward Bloc and the Hum Khyaal or ‘Hum Khyaal’ group, which boycotted the elections.
Gill Bar – A Brief Profile
The newly elected Chief Minister belongs to Diamar district of the region.
When GB’s first assembly elections were held in 2009, he contested on the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam ticket and was elected to parliament.
The People’s Party, which formed a coalition government in the region, made him the Health Minister.
In 2015, he could not become a member of the assembly because the PML-N candidate defeated him.
Fast forward to 2020, he was elected on a PTI ticket and once again became the health minister – this time under the leadership of former chief minister Khurshid.
After Khursheed’s removal, he formed the PTI’s Forward Bloc and was elected Chief Minister on 13 July.
