Gilgit-Baltistan Governor Syed Mehdi Shah will administer the oath of office to Chief Minister-elect Advocate Amjad Hussain in Chinar Bagh today following a brief delay. The Pakistan Peoples Party postponed the original July 1 ceremony because party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari traveled to Iran to attend Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral.
The party chairman returned from Tehran and reached Skardu on Sunday, where Governor Shah and Hussain welcomed him before heading to Gilgit. Hussain previously won election unopposed as the Leader of the House in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly on June 22. Bhutto-Zardari will attend a memorial for the martyrs of the Gilgit-Baltistan War of Independence and address the gathering before the official swearing-in ceremony.
During his visit, the party chairman will finalize the composition of the Gilgit-Baltistan cabinet. The Pakistan Peoples Party plans to include the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party in the government as a reward for supporting Hussain. Both parties agreed to allocate three ministries to the junior coalition partner. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz also supported the candidate under a central power-sharing agreement that grants them the deputy speaker, governor, and opposition leader slots.
Meanwhile, judicial developments altered the regional political landscape. The Gilgit-Baltistan Supreme Appellate Court ordered re-polling at the Loshi Thak female polling station in GBA-15 Diamer after a challenge from a rival candidate. The chief judge also ordered fresh polling at eight stations in GBA-17 Diamer and maintained the suspension of election results for independent candidate Dilpazeer Khan and Pakistan Peoples Party candidate Fida Muhammad Nashad until final decisions are reached on Monday.
