GILGIT: Just 16 hours before close of the poll campaign, the Gilgit-Baltistan Supreme Appellate Court stopped the public office-holders, including ministers and MNAs, from participating in the election campaign.

Pakistan Peoples Party had challenged the Nov 6 order of the Chief Court of Gilgit-Baltistan in which federal minister for Kashmir affairs and MNAs were ordered to leave GB within three days.

Amjad Hussain advocate represented PPP while Munir Ahmed advocate presented arguments on behalf of the Election Commission.

After hearing the arguments, Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Judge Syed Arshad Hussain Shah and senior Judge Justice Wazir Shakeel Ahmed decided the case on Thursday evening.

The court stopped the ministers and MNAs from participating in the election campaign but ordered not to expel them from GB.

Poll security

As many as 134,810 security personnel of police of GB, Punjab, Sindh, KP and Balochistan and GB scouts, Pakistan Rangers and FC will be deployed for security of the polling stations under the election security plan finalised on Friday for Gilgit-Baltistan elections being held on Sunday (tomorrow).

Spokesman for GB caretaker government Faizullah Faraq said a high-level meeting in this regard was held in the central police office, Gilgit.

The meeting was chaired by caretaker chief minister Mir Afzal and attended by chief secretary Khurram Agha, IG police Mujeebur Rehman and other security chiefs.

As many as 1,161 polling stations, including 368 for women, have been established in GB. Of them, 418 polling stations have been declared highly sensitive and 311 sensitive.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2020