Who will be Gilgit Baltistan chief minister?

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has called an emergency meeting on Friday to finalise the names of the chief minister and other cabinet members for Gilgit Baltistan.

The prime minister will chair the consultative meeting, while the Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur has been summoned from Gilgit to Islamabad for the purpose.

The PTI has already grabbed the prized posts of speaker and deputy speaker.

According to sources, the names of the upcoming officeholders will be announced after the approval of PM Imran.

Barrister Khalid Khurshid and Fatehullah Khan are the potential candidates for the position of Gilgit-Baltistan's chief minister.

Sohail Abbas will likely head the Board of Revenue, while Shams Lone will be given the portfolio of food ministry, sources said.

Likewise, Javed Manawa will likely be the next finance minister of GB, Raja Nasir Abbas is likely to be given the portfolio of Sports, Culture, and Tourism, while Wazir Kaleem and Raja Azeem will probably be the next ministers for the department of works and education, respectively.

On November 24, the PTI government announced that it is set to form government in GB after securing a majority in the Legislative Assembly following the 2020 election.

The party grabbed 10 seats in the general elections. But after gaining the support of six independent winners and allotment of six reserved seats, PTI secured 22 out of the 33 seats in the Assembly.

Per a notification by Chief Election Commissioner Gilgit-Baltistan Raja Shahbaz Khan, the PTI was declared successful in 10 seats, independent candidates won seven seats, PPP obtained three, PML-N won two, whereas JUI and MWM won one seat each.