ISLAMABAD: As the government has accelerated process of granting Gilgit Baltistan a provisional provincial status, almost all major political parties have agreed for required legislation.
According to provincial ministers and lawmakers from opposition parties, a consensus has finally been made among all major political parties regarding making GB a provisional province through amendments in the constitution.
During the past two weeks number of meetings among the stakeholders has been held in Islamabad where a draft proposal regarding amendments in the constitution, prepared after thorough deliberations, was discussed.
Earlier, GB Chief Minister GB Khalid Khurshid had circulated among members of the GB Legislative Assembly and his cabinet a draft bill seeking to amend the Constitution of Pakistan to grant “provisional provincial status” to the strategically-located region, asking them to submit their “feedback and views”.
Later the same draft was shared with heads of political parties including PML-N, PPP, JUI-F, MQM, PML-Q and others by their representatives in the GB assembly/cabinet for due approval and feedback.
The bill has suggested a number of key amendments to the Constitution of 1973 seeking representation of the GB in the country’s National Assembly and the Senate, besides the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
According to an insider, both the center and regional government are intending to complete the process early. After developing major consensus on the draft reform bill, the stakeholders have also constituted a committee of 18 members including experts, lawmakers and bureaucrats, to finalize the transitional plan and other related arrangements before and after the amendments in the constitution.
As per Information Minister GB, Fathullah Khan, the final draft bill would be approved by federal cabinet before the same is cleared from GB assembly through a resolution. Subsequently the same would be presented in the National Assembly for legislation, which needed a two-third majority in the house.
“Since the issue of Kashmir has been protected through the bill and GB would be granted a provisional provincial status till a plebiscite on Kashmir, all major political parties and stakeholders are agreed on the proposed bill,” he claimed.
Though GB would be treated as a province, but the exemptions and subsidies available in the area would remain unchanged.
“As long as the word ‘provisional’ remains with our province, the whole region will be exempt from taxes, wheat subsidy will be maintained and we will get all the benefits that the people of other parts of the country will get,” GB Law Adviser Syed Sohail Abbas Shah said. He said that GB is entering the national mainstream for the first time.
“After becoming a provisional province, we would be happily going for polls in 2023 for the benefit of the wider national interest. We would sacrifice the remaining three-year tenure for the major cause,” Speaker Provincial Assembly Syed Amjad Zaidi said while replying to a query.
In a bid to align GB with other provinces through a constitutional affirmation of its provincial status, the political parties of the region have agreed on premature termination of the incumbent government.
On the other hand Opposition Leader in GB assembly and President of PPP in the region Amjad Hussain said that the assembly must end prematurely and next elections are held alongside the general elections held in other provinces.
The opposition leader said that all stakeholders have agreed on the provincial status, and it would be formally announced soon.
The opposition leader said that over the past 70 years, the people have developed a sense of deprivation. He said that Pakistan’s position and the United Nations’ resolutions on the Kashmir dispute should remain intact as the people get their due rights under the Constitution of Pakistan.
Therefore, he added, the political leadership of the region has agreed on the interim provincial status.
A leader of PML-N also claimed that the party like other opposition parties had agreed to the draft proposals regarding granting provincial status to GB.
Atauulah Shihab, head of JUI-F in GB claimed that his party has supported the move in larger interest of the deprived area.
“We, however, have asked the stakeholders to give equal representative to GB in parliament in the same way like other provinces,” he added.
It is worth noting here that locals have demanded constitutional rights for the territory for a long time. Now, as the government moves ahead with this, there will be four seats for GB in the National Assembly (NA) and seven in the Senate.
