Who Will Rule Gilgit-Baltistan? PPP, PML-N Strike Power-Sharing Deal

Published 13 June 2026 · politics

Who Will Rule Gilgit-Baltistan? PPP, PML-N Strike Power-Sharing Deal Reported By, Last Updated: June 13, 2026, 09:51 IST The deal allows the PPP to lead

Who Will Rule Gilgit-Baltistan? PPP, PML-N Strike Power-Sharing Deal Reported By, Last Updated: June 13, 2026, 09:51 IST The deal allows the PPP to lead the government, with the PML-N taking key constitutional posts and functioning as a ‘friendly Opposition’. Rapid Read PPP emerged as the single-largest party in the recently held Gilgit-Baltistan elections. (Image: Reuters/File) The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have reached an agreement on government formation in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’s Gilgit-Baltistan legislative assembly, with the two parties finalising a power-sharing arrangement, sources told CNN-News18. Under the proposed formula, the chief minister will be from the PPP, while the governor and deputy speaker posts will go to the PML-N. The Leader of the Opposition in the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly will also be from the PML-N, according to the agreement. The arrangement would allow the PPP to lead the government while the PML-N assumes the role of what the parties have described as a “friendly Opposition".

The development comes after the PPP emerged as the single-largest party in the recently held Gilgit-Baltistan elections but fell short of the numbers required to form the government independently. Shehbaz Invites PPP To Form Government Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formally invited the PPP to form the government in Gilgit-Baltistan and assured it of the PML-N’s full support. The PML-N has decided to sit on the Opposition benches but its elected members are expected to support the PPP during the government-formation process. PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also invited the PML-N to cooperate with his party in establishing the new administration. Bilawal said that under the agreed arrangement, the chief minister would be chosen by the PPP, while the governor, deputy speaker and Leader of the Opposition would be from the PML-N. Bilawal Questions Governments Formed Without People’s Mandate Bilawal, meanwhile, said that a government formed through means other than the power of the people remained disconnected from ground realities.

He argued that parties brought to power without a genuine public mandate could not formulate policies aligned with the actual needs of the people. The PPP chairman thanked the people of Gilgit-Baltistan for placing their trust in his party. He said voters had entrusted the PPP with the responsibility of protecting their property, employment and constitutional rights. Government formation in the region had remained uncertain following the fractured electoral verdict, with no party securing a clear majority on its own. The understanding between the PPP and PML-N, which are also coalition partners in Pakistan’s federal government, is now expected to clear the way for the formation of the next administration in occupied Gilgit-Baltistan. Appeal For Peaceful Protests In PoK Bilawal also addressed the continuing protests in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and appealed to demonstrators to ensure that their agitation remained peaceful. “I request the people of Azad Kashmir to keep their protests within peaceful bounds," he said. India’s Stance On Polls India had lodged a strong protest with Pakistan over the elections, maintaining that Gilgit-Baltistan is part of Indian territory that has been “illegally and forcibly" occupied by Pakistan.