Caretaker cabinet row sparks youth-led protests across PoGB

Gilgit [PoGB], January 4 : Protests erupted in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) as youth activists, opposition figures and civil society groups voiced strong opposition to the composition of the caretaker government, accusing authorities of undermining electoral neutrality ahead of the upcoming general elections.

The demonstrations were led by the GB Youth Movement, which organised a protest outside the Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) Chief Minister's Secretariat in the Chinarbagh area, as reported by Dawn.

According to Dawn, protesters alleged that several individuals appointed to the caretaker cabinet had prior political affiliations or had served in previous governments, a move they claimed contradicted the basic principles of a neutral interim setup.

Demonstrators argued that such appointments raised serious doubts about the credibility of the election process and could pave the way for pre-poll manipulation.

The protest escalated into a sit-in, during which River Road in Chinarbagh was temporarily blocked.

Police later detained eight protesters, including the chairman of the GB Youth Movement.

The arrests were condemned by multiple political parties, and opposition leaders demanded the immediate release of those taken into custody.

GB Youth Movement chairman Azfar Jamshed warned that demonstrations would continue if youth were excluded from consultations over the caretaker government.

He said the protests would not remain confined to Gilgit but would spread to other parts of the country where Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) youth are residing.

Discontent over the caretaker cabinet extended beyond Gilgit, with political parties and civil society organisations in Ghanche, Nagar and Shigar districts of Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) announcing parallel protests.

Former Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) Assembly member Sultan Ali Khan, along with Awami Action Committee Ghanche leader Zakir Hussain Kazim and other local leaders, rejected the cabinet's formation, calling it unrepresentative and discriminatory.

Kazim warned that the exclusion of Ghanche, a border district in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB), was deepening frustration among residents and could have long-term consequences.

He questioned the fairness of appointing multiple individuals from a single district while ignoring others, arguing that such an imbalance threatened the prospects of free and fair elections, as highlighted by Dawn.

Similar concerns were raised in Nagar, a district of Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB), where leaders from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) criticised the absence of representation despite the district's political and strategic significance.

They announced continued resistance until what they termed "equal and just representation" was ensured.

Meanwhile, former chief minister and PML-N PoGB president Hafeezur Rehman reiterated earlier objections, stating that an agreed framework required representation from all districts and barred politically affiliated individuals from the caretaker cabinet.

He cautioned that deviations from these criteria risked eroding public trust in the electoral process, as reported by Dawn.

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