Bilawal Bhutto says he will turn G-B into a province 'within three months'

PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto said on Tuesday that he will give the people of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) their due constitutional rights which he said they had been deprived of for the past 70 years.

Addressing a jalsa as part of his political campaign ahead of the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly election on November 15, Bilawal Bhutto said that if elected, the PPP will not only turn G-B into a province but it will also transform the lives of its people.

“The PPP will ensure that G-B will be given a provincial status within three months after the election,” Bilawal proclaimed.

“Aside from giving the people of G-B their due constitutional status, we will also bring about an economic revolution through the provision of employment opportunities.”

He said that hundreds of young, degree-holding job aspirants from G-B are still looking for employment but the government is not doing anything for them.

“When the PPP government was in power, it not only created jobs for all Pakistanis but many people were also given a chance to go abroad and start a career there,” he added.

The PPP leader promised that upon his election, he will also make sure to increase salaries as well as pensions.

“We will not abandon the people of G-B. It was the PPP-led government that increased the salaries of our fearless soldiers who are defending the country by guarding its borders. We gave Pakistan army a 175% increment in their salaries. No other government did that,” he claimed.

He said the PPP will introduce people-friendly policies in G-B and will announce a special package for deprived areas of the region under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

Earlier, Bilawal had urged the people of Gilgit-Baltistan to shape their own fate by making the right choice on election day and to exercise their right to vote instead of abstaining from it.

Read more: Bilawal urges GB to exercise right to vote in bid to save them from 'puppet' govt