• A forward block has emerged within PTI in Gilgit-Baltistan.
• Haji Gulbar Khan has emerged as candidate for Chief Minister slot.
• He claims to have the support of seven PTI members and the opposition.

GILGIT: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) is experiencing an internal rift in Gilgit-Baltistan as a forward bloc has emerged within the party to grab the vacant post of chief minister.

PTI Member of Gilgit Baltistan Assembly and former Health Minister Haji Gulbar Khan is leading the forward bloc and emerged as a candidate for the slot of chief minister

According to reports, Haji Gulbar has received the support of more than seven PTI members of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly. This includes former ministers and former speaker Amjad Zaidi, sources revealed. The forward bloc also includes Raja Zakaria, Haji Shah Baig, Abdur Haim, Soraya Zaman, and Dilshad Bano.

Sources said the Haji Gulbar is politically active for the coveted post of chief minister. He held a meeting with the prime minister’s adviser on Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan affairs Qamar-uz-Zaman Kaira. Sources revealed that Haji Gulbar is likely to get the support of the opposition members during the chief minsiter election.

The Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly has 33 members. The total number of PTI members in the GB Assembly has reduced to 21 after the disqualification of Khalid Khurshid Khan.

The PPP has five members and PML-N has three members, while Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) and JUI-F have one member each. There is also one independent member.

The PTI has nominated Raja Azam as the party’s candidate for the slot and claimed it had a majority to secure the slot. The PPP nominated Amjad Advocate, PML-N nominated Engineer Anwar and the JUI-F nominated Rehmat Khaliq.

Earlier today, the Gilgit-Baltistan Supreme Appellate Court (SAC) issued an order to delay the election for the new chief minister, citing procedural irregularities.

Governor GB Syed Mehdi Shah stopped the election after the court’s order. Haji Gulbar Khan requested the court to stop the election.

The region’s top court issued a statement halting the election and said Chief Judge Justice Sardar Muhammad Shamim Khan ordered that the election be adjourned.

A day earlier, the Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Court had disqualified former chief minister Khalid Khurshid on charges of submitting a fake degree.

The election to elect his successor could not be held as a large police contingent was deployed outside the assembly building and lawmakers were barred from entering.