Gilgit Baltistan Election 2020: PTI victory sign of people’s trust in PM Imran Khan, says Shibli Faraz

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s victory in the Gilgit Baltistan elections is a sign of the people’s trust in Prime Minister Imran Khan’s leadership.

This was stated by Information Minister Shibli Faraz in a tweet Monday morning.

The minister said that the people of GB have rejected the narrative of PML-N and endorsed the view of the prime minister.

Later in a press conference in Islamabad, Faraz said that the people of GB had a democratic mind and have voted for a better future.

“Even before the election, these people had started chanting the mantra of rigging,” said Faraz, adding that the PPP and PML-N got an opportunity but did not focus on the region.

The senator said that the opposition used to claim that the current elections would be a referendum, adding that the polls were "free and fair".

“If there was was rigging then we should get 14, 15 seats,” said Faraz. He also admitted that many candidates from his party were also defeated. 

The polling time for the Gilgit Baltistan Election 2020 ended at 5 pm on Sunday and the counting of votes is currently underway.

Read more: Latest party position in Gilgit Baltistan Assembly

As of 11:30 am on Monday, PTI is ahead with a lead in 8 of 23 constituencies. This is based on unofficial, provisional results. The final results may vary.

Faraz wrote that the PML-N had rejected PML-N and its statements and sealed the validity of the ideology of PM Imran Khan.

Special Assistant to the PM on Political Communication, too, gave a statement in support of the government’s position in the GB elections. He said the people of GB have buried Maryam Nawaz’s anti-state narrative.

Gill said the public had made it clear that they trust Imran Khan.

Read more: Live coverage of Gilgit Baltistan election

A day earlier, Faraz had congratulated the people of GB after the polling process completed peacefully and amicably.

“Congratulations, to the people of Gilgit-Baltistan. The polling process was completed peacefully and amicably. The media showed the full participation and transparency of the people, including the elderly and women, in the election process through the eyes of their cameras,” he had tweeted.

The minister contended that the media and the zealous people of GB slammed the expected rigged statements of the opposition.

On the other hand, the Minister for Industries & Production Hammad Azhar took to his Twitter account and retweeted a statement earlier issued by PTI leader Asad Umar in which he cited the Gallup Survey, showing Imran Khan as the most popular leader in GB.

Asad Umar had predicted that despite being the most popular party in GB, the PTI will eventually face rigging allegations from the Opposition. 

"It's time to retweet this tweet again [as a reminder for the Opposition]. Asad Sahab, are you a fortune-teller?" Azhar wrote.