Bilawal calls for GB people to decide their own future, seeks support in Shigar rally

The PPP chairman says he had previously stood by the people of Gilgit-Baltistan despite political pressure and had once again come to seek their support.

SHIGAR: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-June 1st, 2026) Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday said the people of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir should have the right to determine their own future rather than having decisions imposed by bureaucrats sitting in Islamabad.

Addressing an election rally in the GBA-12 Shigar constituency, Bilawal said he had previously stood by the people of Gilgit-Baltistan despite political pressure and had once again come to seek their support.

“You have never disappointed the PPP. Some believed that there would be no one left to raise the voice of the people, but they were mistaken,” he said.

The PPP chairman paid tribute to party founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, saying he not only raised the slogan of “Roti, Kapra aur Makaan” but also translated it into practical measures for the welfare of ordinary citizens. He added that the PPP had always represented underprivileged segments of society and supported the people of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Bilawal said the PPP continued to demand free, fair and transparent elections in Gilgit-Baltistan. He urged voters to safeguard their votes and ensure the integrity of the electoral process.

He reiterated his longstanding position that elections in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir should be held simultaneously with Pakistan’s general elections, arguing that such an arrangement would strengthen democratic representation and the principle of popular sovereignty.

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Criticising what he described as excessive centralisation, Bilawal said some political forces wanted all decisions regarding Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir, Gwadar and Karachi to be made in Islamabad. He maintained that people in the regions concerned should have a greater role in decisions affecting their future.

“If the federation is facing financial difficulties, it should first review unnecessary expenditures rather than depriving the people of their right to self-governance,” he said.

The PPP chairman also defended the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), describing it as one of the country’s most successful social protection initiatives. He claimed that some political parties were attempting to weaken or dismantle the programme and opposed proposals to transfer it to provincial governments.

Bilawal said the PPP would continue to protect the programme, which provides financial assistance to vulnerable women and low-income families across the country.

He added that during his tenure as foreign minister, he had cited BISP as a model welfare programme and encouraged other countries, including Afghanistan, to adopt similar initiatives for poverty alleviation.

The PPP chairman vowed to resist any attempts to curtail the programme and said his party would continue working to safeguard the interests of disadvantaged communities.