Haji Gulbar Khan, has been elected as the Chief Minister of Gilgit Baltistan.

Haji Gulbar Khan, an estranged member of the PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf), was elected as the chief minister for Gilgit Baltistan on Thursday. His election came after PTI’s Khalid Khurshid Khan was disqualified from the position due to a fake degree.

According to state-run Radio Pakistan, Gulbar secured 19 out of 20 votes in the election, while Raja Azam Khan, who had been endorsed by Khurshid as his successor, boycotted the process. Javed Ali Manwa, leading one of the three forward blocs within the PTI, also boycotted the polls along with Muhammad Zakria Maqpoon.

As a result, 19 of the 20 members present expressed their support for Gulbar, including three from the PML-N, three from the PPP, and one from the JUI-F. Following the vote, the speaker announced Gulbar as the Leader of the House.

In his speech to the assembly after his election, Gulbar expressed gratitude to his fellow members for their support despite his ill health. He also conveyed his commitment to working towards the peace and prosperity of the region.

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Gulbar, hailing from the Diamer district, had been leading a forward bloc within the PTI and had previously announced his intention to contest the position independently. He had previously served as the GB health minister during the previous PTI government as well as during 2010-2011 as a member of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F).

Prior to the election, three forward blocs had emerged within the PTI, led by Gulbar, Manwa, and Azam. Opposition leader in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly Advocate Amjad Hussain had also resigned from his assembly membership and announced a boycott of the elections.

With 19 members from the PTI in the 32-member house, the PTI holds the majority. The PPP has four members, the PML-N has three, and the Muttahida Wahdat-i-Muslimeen and JUI-F have three and one member(s) respectively, along with one independent candidate.

Efforts were made by Prime Minister’s Adviser on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira to form a coalition government in the region, holding meetings with leaders of various political and religious parties. However, opposition parties initially aimed to nominate a joint candidate with the support of estranged PTI members.