{"id":1142,"date":"2026-06-02T15:44:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T15:44:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/?p=1142"},"modified":"2026-06-02T15:44:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T15:44:17","slug":"bilawal-vows-fight-for-gilgit-baltistans-rights-under-18th-amendment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/2026\/06\/02\/bilawal-vows-fight-for-gilgit-baltistans-rights-under-18th-amendment\/","title":{"rendered":"Bilawal vows fight for Gilgit-Baltistan\u2019s rights under 18th Amendment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SKARDU<\/strong>: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Tuesday said Gilgit-Baltistan should be granted the same constitutional protections, powers and facilities available to the provinces under the 18th Amendment, asserting that only then would its people become owners of their resources and masters of their own destiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As political activity gathers pace ahead of the G-B general elections scheduled for Sunday after a four-month delay attributed to harsh winter weather, Bilawal addressed a public gathering in Skardu attended by First Lady Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recalling the previous elections, he said there had been an atmosphere of celebration at the time, whereas the current election campaign was taking place in an atmosphere of grief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI toured G-B on foot in the last elections. I wanted to do the same this time,\u201d he said, adding that there was an \u201cair of grief\u201d for both the people of G-B and himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said there was no politician in the country who had travelled as extensively as he had, adding that he had visited every tehsil of G-B.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The PPP chairman said his party was the only political force representing the underprivileged and the poor, stressing that Pakistan could only progress when workers and young people were economically empowered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cProgress is when the farmer gets the fruit of their hard work, progress is when employment opportunities are created for the youth,\u201d he said, recalling that the policies of his grandfather, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, had \u201cmade labourers the owners of mills\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calling for greater rights for the people of G-B, the PPP chairman said his party’s new generation would continue the struggle to secure the region’s right to govern, own its resources and create employment opportunities for its youth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have to struggle along with G-B\u2019s new generation. If we have to implement the manifesto of roti, kapra, makaan in its true sense, then we will have to work on three principles \u2014 we will have to secure the right to govern, the right to ownership and the right to employment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that the struggle of the PPP’s new generation would be aimed at securing the people of G-B’s right to govern and that this would only be achieved when the region received the protections, facilities and powers provided under the 18th Amendment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe believe all of this will only be possible when G-B is granted the same powers and facilities that will make its people owners of their resources and masters of their own destiny.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bilawal said this would happen when G-B received the same authority under the 18th Amendment that was available to Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen G-B has those powers and that constitutional protection, only then will our new generation feel that we have succeeded,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Referring to the situation in the Middle East, the PPP chairman said innocent children had been martyred after a school in Iran was targeted by missiles and that people around the world were bearing the burden of the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that Zionist forces had targeted a girls’ school, resulting in the martyrdom of innocent schoolgirls, and also referred to the reported martyrdom of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the holy month of Ramazan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe pray that the efforts for peace being undertaken by the field marshal prove successful. The Pakistan People’s Party has always opposed war. The recent conflict has resulted in casualties not only in Iran but also in Palestine, Lebanon and Syria, where Muslims are being martyred. In this situation, every Pakistani is praying for the success of the role being played by the Pakistan Armed Forces and the field marshal for the establishment of peace,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bilawal said the conflict was also having economic consequences that had adversely affected people across the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also referred to the presence of foreign air bases in some Middle Eastern countries and said Pakistan’s history included a period when a military ruler had allowed foreign powers to establish air bases in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHowever, when the Salala incident occurred, and Pakistan\u2019s sovereignty came into question, President Asif Ali Zardari took a courageous decision and shut down all foreign bases, sending a clear message that no compromise would be accepted on Pakistan\u2019s territory and sovereignty. It was a moment when the state prioritised national dignity and self-respect over hospitality,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Referring again to the PPP’s slogan of \u201croti, kapra aur makaan\u201d, he said the party would have to secure the right to govern, the right to ownership and the right to employment for the people of G-B if it wished to implement its manifesto in its true spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The PPP chairman said that during his tenure as foreign minister, the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) was the only institution about which other countries asked Pakistan for assistance in establishing similar initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom Egypt to Brazil, and across many countries in Africa, there is a desire to launch programmes similar to the Benazir Income Support Programme to serve poor people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without naming any party, he said some political forces called for the abolition of BISP rather than examining subsidies provided to the wealthy or the taxes paid by the business community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the only institution from Islamabad that reaches every poor household. From Balochistan to the former tribal districts, and from there to the mountains of G-B, this financial assistance provided to poor women in the name of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto reaches those in need. The conspiracies of political parties that oppose this programme will fail,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read More: Barrister Gohar, Bilawal arrive in Skardu as G-B election campaign enters final stretch<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bilawal said the PPP would not only protect BISP but that the prime minister would announce an increase in its allocation in the upcoming budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He further said that everything could not be controlled from Islamabad and that G-B must be granted ownership rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt must be accepted that local people should be given ownership in every project. This is how it was done in Sindh. When coal was extracted from Thar, electricity was provided to local communities, jobs were created for them in the projects, and they were even offered shares. They chose financial compensation instead of shares. The benefits of Thar coal are being enjoyed by all of Pakistan, but the local people benefited first. This is what the PPP wants,\u201d he said.The<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PPP chairman said he compared Sindh not with other provinces but with the wider world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe housing project in Sindh is the largest of its kind in the world. Previously, Nepal held the record for post-earthquake housing construction. Now that the record belongs to Sindh, where two million permanent homes are being built after the floods. These homes will not be destroyed even if floods occur again, and they will be registered in the names of women,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SKARDU: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Tuesday said Gilgit-Baltistan should be granted the same constitutional protections, powers and facilities available to the provinces under the 18th Amendment, asserting that only then would its people become owners of their resources and masters of their own destiny. As political activity gathers pace ahead of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1052,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,16,2],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[27],"class_list":["post-1142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-latest","category-national","category-pakisstan"],"authors":[{"term_id":27,"user_id":3,"is_guest":0,"slug":"afnanwasif","display_name":"Web Desk","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cbec8328241e98fefcd32e00f20f7a6b502086a0b95d395db4b1565c51681914?s=96&d=mm&r=g","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1142"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1143,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1142\/revisions\/1143"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1142"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=1142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}