FOR 75 years, Gilgit-Baltistan has been trapped in a constitutional limbo. Bound by an agreement with Kashmiri leaders, its people lived under direct federal control, with no say in their future. It was only in 2009 that the then PPP government gave it back its name, discarding the colonial label of ‘Northern Areas’. A legislative assembly, a chief minister, and a governor followed, an arrangement trumpeted as the birth of a fifth province. But beneath the fanfare, the structure was hollow: the assembly had meagre powers, every decision remained hostage to Islamabad, and the promise of equality with Pakistan’s provinces proved illusory.
Encouraged by the idea that full provincial integration was their rightful due, the people began pressing successive PML-N governments for equal constitutional rights as citizens. An irritated government sought to defuse the discontent by forming a committee, this time under Sartaj Aziz, the then adviser on foreign affairs. A principled individual, Aziz produced a report endorsing most of the people’s demands. Meanwhile, the government faced another challenge in the form of a Supreme Court case on the issue. Hearings were delayed while the government introduced a new decree — the Gilgit-Baltistan Order 2018 — claiming it would ensure “political empowerment and good governance” in the region, ostensibly based on the committee’s recommendations.
When the PTI assumed power, the issue was still before the Supreme Court, which had questioned the GB Order 2018 and directed the government to present a revised framework ensuring that the rights enjoyed by GB residents equalled those accorded to other Pakistanis. The result was the GB Order 2019, a draft the court reviewed and even endorsed, raising genuine expectations in GB that the constitutional deadlock was nearing resolution. Yet, those hopes soon collapsed: the government failed to implement the order, and the court let the matter drift. Though hearings were later scheduled on a petition, reportedly no stay order was issued. Taking advantage of this passive process, the federal government quietly sidestepped the ‘troublesome’ decision. As a result, the region remains bound by the discarded GB Order 2018, an arrangement the Supreme Court itself had directed be replaced six years ago, exemplifying how successive governments disregard binding judgments, thereby undermining the process of granting long-denied constitutional rights to a strategic region that has remained loyal to Pakistan. Unless addressed, the present unrest over multiple governance issues could escalate into a broader movement for constitutional rights, one that anti-state actors might exploit, with potentially tragic consequences for this historically peaceful region.
It is a farce that the very political parties which denied GB its constitutional rights, despite making loud promises before the last assembly elections, are once again preparing to peddle the same slogans as the next polls approach. Once more, they will vow integration as a federating unit, if not permanent then at least provisional, with token representation in parliament. And once more, with the help of their pliant local ‘leaders’, these hollow declarations will be recycled and sold to voters, who in their desperation may fall for the deceit.
The upcoming polls in Gilgit-Baltistan are a rare opportunity to reset governance in the area.
The litmus test of intent lies not in the electioneering noise but in the manifestos of the three major parties, published on their official websites. I read them closely, line by line, expecting some clarity of purpose where policy positions are laid bare. This should have been the basis for our local leadership, political parties, and educated citizens to make informed choices, rather than being short-changed yet again by opportunists masquerading as champions of GB.
When manifestos are released, many expect them to reflect serious commitments. And they do mention GB, including special regional development, inclusion in federal awards, and fiscal allocations. But none of the three major political parties, namely the PPP, PTI and PML-N, make a clear and binding promise to settle GB’s constitutional status as a province or provisional province.
The PTI’s 2024 manifesto, for instance, promises “regional development and social inclusion … focus on areas such as … Gilgit-Baltistan …” but does not mention granting it provincial status or full constitutional rights. The PML-N similarly refers to allocations and reforms involving GB, but again, its texts do not pledge constitutional provincial status. The PPP is the only one that comes closest, promising its inclusion in the National Finance Commission award and fiscal autonomy. It refers to the GB Empowerment Order, but the wording stops short of a binding constitutional amendment.
What emerges, instead, is a damning report card. The manifestos, coupled with the historical record, expose how the people of this resource-rich but sensitive region remain trapped under governance by decrees, orders, and notifications drafted in bureaucratic corridors and rubber-stamped by ‘leaders’ with no real stake in the future of this region.
For GB’s educated class and opinion leaders, this should be a moment of reckoning. The solution to every core problem lies in meaningful constitutional rights with assured representation in the institutions where policy is made, and protection under the same legal framework enjoyed by the other federating units. Today every province has a voice in the fate of CPEC, but the very region that is Pakistan’s gateway to China is excluded, occasionally represented only as a token gesture through handpicked ‘leaders’.
The upcoming elections in GB are a rare opportunity to reset governance in the region. Voters and civil society should insist that every political party — the three major parties and all others — meet these non-negotiable conditions before receiving public support.
i) Each party must include an explicit, categorical promise in its manifesto to grant full constitutional rights to the people of GB with a realistic timeline for implementation.
ii) The parties currently in power (the PML-N and PPP) must promptly implement the Supreme Court’s orders and formally notify the Draft Governance Order 2019, replacing the GB Order 2018.
iii) Every party must publish a transparent, step-by-step framework for integrating the region as a province.
If any party refuses these conditions, civil society should lead an organised voter-education campaign urging the electorate to withhold support from that party until it complies. Continued disregard for judicial verdicts and the denial of constitutional rights to a region under de facto state control are unsustainable. The status quo is not a choice. The electorate must demand clarity, compliance and a credible route to full constitutional enfranchisement for Gilgit-Baltistan.
The writer, a former IGP Sindh, belongs to Gilgit-Baltistan.
Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2025
