Haji Gulbar Khan, a prominent political figure, has been elected as the new Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan. Khan hails from the forward block of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. The PTI group initially declared a boycott of the election but later held a late-night press conference, alleging that the majority in the assembly had been forcibly converted into a minority. Consequently, Haji Gulbar Khan emerged as the sole candidate for the position.
According to Khan, several members of the assembly were enticed with lucrative offers amounting to crores of rupees, while others faced threats of arrest and lawsuits in order to gain their cooperation. Haji Gulbar Khan garnered support from the Muslim League-N and the People’s Party, including the Farood Block.
During the recent meeting of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly, Haji Gulbar Khan secured the position of Chief Minister with a close vote of 20 to 19, considering the reduced assembly size of 32 members following the disqualification of former Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid from Tehreek-e-Insaf due to a fake degree case.
Haji Gulbar Khan hails from the Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan. He first won an election in November 2009 on a JUIF ticket and served as the Minister of Health in the coalition government of the People’s Party. However, he was unsuccessful in his 2015 bid as a candidate appointed by PML-N. In the 2020 elections, Haji Gulbar Khan emerged victorious on a PTI ticket and assumed the role of Health Minister. He was elected from Constituency 18 Diamar 3 Tanger in Gilgit Baltistan.
