Bilawal Bhutto urges Gilgit-Baltistan to vote to protect them from 'puppet' rule
Nov 08, 2020
Gilgit-Baltistan [PoK], November 9 : Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday urged the people of Gilgit-Baltistan to shape their own fate by making the right choice on election day, and exercise their right to vote.
"If you don't vote, then a puppet will rule you," he warned, reported Geo News.
Zardari said that several voices demanding the construction of roads and threatening a boycott of voting have been growing louder.
"I hear slogans such as 'no road, no vote' are being raised. Removing yourself from the voting process is not the path to success," he said.
Pakistan had announced that they will hold elections to the so-called Gilgit Baltistan legislative assembly on November 15.
The PPP chairman also claimed to resolve all the problems of the people.
"We are related to the people of this area for the last three generations and we have to revive again this relationship," Geo News quoted Zardari.
Zardari also promised to provide jobs to the local residents in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
Bilawal also vowed to make Gilgit-Baltistan a constitutional province.
Gilgit-Baltistan is a vital part of the multi-billion dollar CPEC project, with the project's major overland crossing at Kashgar, in the territory's north.
Meanwhile, the Imran Khan government had recently announced granting provisional province status to the region, which is scheduled to have elections this month.
The people across Gilgit-Baltistan are up in arms against Islamabad's decision of integrating the illegally occupied region with the rest of Pakistan.