PML-N announces to support PPP to form govt in GB

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday invited the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to form the government in Gilgit-Baltistan as it has emerged as the majority party of the region in the fresh elections.

“The PML-N supports the PPP on the matter of government formation in Gilgit-Baltistan,” stated the prime minister.

PM Shehbaz said PML-N has decided to sit on the opposition benches in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly, but their elected members will vote for the PPP to form the government.

“This decision has been made keeping democratic traditions and values paramount; the PML-N has always maintained a relationship of honour and respect with its allied parties,” he noted.

The statement comes hours after PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari decided not to attend the budget session amid reservations regarding the GB elections, before Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi briefly met him in Islamabad and convinced him to participate in the budget process.

Bilawal, as per the sources cited by Aaj News, had said that it could not happen that on one hand the mandate was stolen, and on the other hand they kept clapping.

A day ago, an important consultative meeting was held in Gilgit between high-level delegations of the PPP and the PML-N.

During the meeting, detailed discussions were held on possible formulas for government formation in Gilgit-Baltistan, political cooperation, mutual consultation, and other important matters.

The PPP delegation had stated that the people of Gilgit-Baltistan had given the party a clear mandate by making it the largest political party in the Gilgit-Baltistan. The delegation had said that all decisions related to government formation would be taken keeping in mind democratic principles, political consultation and public interests.

According to preliminary, unofficial results, the PPP had secured 10 of the 24 directly elected seats in the 33-member assembly, placing it ahead of rivals but short of an outright majority.

The ruling PML-N followed with six seats, independents won seven – including two backed by PTI – while Majlis-e-Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) took one seat.

Voting for the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly was held on Sunday and concluded peacefully under tight security, with counting continuing overnight before unofficial tallies began to emerge early Monday.

The assembly includes 24 general seats, with nine additional reserved seats – six for women and three for technocrats and professionals – allocated proportionally based on party performance.

The PPP’s gains were largely concentrated in Baltistan and select key districts, with notable victories including GBA-12 (Shigar), where Imran Nadeem defeated rivals from independent and PML-N candidates. The party had also secured victory in constituencies across Gilgit, Nagar, Skardu, Roundu, Kharmang, Darel and Ghizer.