GILGIT: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) forward bloc leader Gul Bar Khan was elected as Gilgit-Baltistan’s new chief minister on Thursday, days after controversy marred the top post’s polls.
Gul Bar, who received 19 votes from the 20 members present in the house, was elected unopposed as three other candidates vying for the post withdrew their nomination papers.
An independent lawmaker, Nawaz Khan Naji, abstained from voting, with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) parliamentarians backed the new CM.
All 11 members of the PTI’s ‘like-minded group’ boycotted the polling, claiming rigging.
The election for the post was triggered after the region’s top court disqualified former CM Khalid Khursheed was disqualified for holding a fake degree.
Following his removal from office, the PTI divided into two factions — the forward bloc and the like-minded or ‘humkhayal’ group, which boycotted the election.
Belonging to the Diamer district, Gulbar had served as the GB health minister during the previous PTI government as well as in early 2011.
According to the GB assembly’s website, Gulbar took oath as its member on Nov 15, 2020 from the GBA-18 Diamer-IV constituency of the Darel district.
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