Key Takeaways
- Amjad Hussain, newly sworn-in Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, has appointed 12 cabinet members.
- Eight members from the PPP and four from the IPP have been selected for ministerial positions.
- The appointments follow the June 7 elections in which the PML-N and IPP supported the PPP.
Amjad Hussain, newly sworn-in Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), has named 12 members to his cabinet as ministers. According to a notification issued by the Services and General Administration Department and Cabinet Department, eight individuals from Hussain’s own party, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), and four from the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) have been selected.
The notification lists Zulfiqar Ali Murad, Syed Jalal Shah, Muhammad Ali Akhtar, Naiknam Karim, Iqbal Hassan, Raja Nasir Khan, Muhammad Naseem, and Syed Tauqeer Mehdi from the PPP. Aman Ali, Asad Shafiq, Anwar Ali, and Muhammad Dilpazeer from the IPP have also been appointed.
The appointments come after the June 7 elections in GB where the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and IPP supported the PPP for key positions such as chief minister, speaker, and deputy speaker. However, it was agreed that the PML-N would sit in the opposition following these elections.
Currently, the GB Assembly comprises 14 members from the PPP, nine from the PML-N, seven from the IPP, one from the Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen, and one PTI-backed independent candidate. A by-election is due to be held for one of the seats, GBA-9 Skardu-III, after the GB Supreme Appellate Court disqualified the PPP candidate Fida Muhammad Nashad for concealing his assets in his nomination papers.
The notification does not specify any portfolios assigned to these new cabinet members. The by-election for the Skardu-III seat is yet to be scheduled by the GB Election Commission, which announced it earlier this month.
Following the elections, the PML-N and IPP had agreed to support the PPP in forming a government but decided that the PML-N would sit in the opposition. This decision reflects the complex political landscape of Gilgit-Baltistan where multiple parties are vying for influence and power.
