During the election campaign in Gilgit-Baltistan on Saturday, armed people openly fired in the air with machine guns and AK-47 rifles to welcome JUI leader Mama Sikandar Rahmat Khan. This incident has raised serious questions on the politics and law and order based on weapons in Pakistan.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) led by Fazlur Rehman is facing allegations that it has entered the election with the support of armed groups. Voting for 24 seats of Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly is to be held on June 7, 2026, in which 403 candidates are in the fray.
Elections in Gilgit-Baltistan on June 7
After several months of delay, Pakistan has fixed June 7 as the date for general elections in Gilgit-Baltistan. Gilgit-Baltistan is a mountainous region that was part of the undivided state of Jammu and Kashmir. Due to this, political activities have resumed in this region suffering from constitutional ambiguity and strategic importance.
Notification issued on 11 April
This announcement was made through a notification issued by Chief Election Commissioner Raja Shahbaz Khan on April 11. This election will be the fourth general election after the limited self-governance system was implemented in 2009. The Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly was dissolved on November 24, 2025, leading to the formation of a caretaker administration tasked with holding elections within three months.
Election postponed due to severe cold
The Election Commission had initially scheduled voting for January 24, but it had to be postponed due to severe cold. Due to snowfall in high altitude areas, entire districts are cut off for several weeks, which is a common problem. Now that the new date has been finalised, political parties have intensified campaigning in all three divisions of the region – Gilgit, Diamer and Baltistan – each of which has its own ethnic, communal and political circumstances.
How many seats in the assembly?
The 33-member assembly has 24 directly elected representatives, six reserved seats for women and three seats for technical experts. According to official figures, the number of voters is over 963,000, spread across 24 constituencies – nine in Gilgit division, six in Diamer and nine in Baltistan.
These parties ruled
There are 33 political parties registered with the Gilgit-Baltistan Election Commission, which include branches of all major Pakistani parties. Historically, power in the region has alternated between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the Pakistan People’s Party, and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Smaller parties such as the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen and regional nationalist leaders such as Nawaz Khan Naji have also played an influential role and often shaped coalition governments.
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