GB provisional province GB to be given 4 seats in each NA and Senate

ISLAMABAD (Ghulam Abbas, Pakistan Today): Almost a year after an announcement made by the ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) during the election in Gilgit Baltistan (GB), Prime Imran Khan has finally approved a draft summary for making GB a provincial province of Pakistan.
According to the summary prepared by Law Minister Senator Farogh Naseem, it has been proposed that GB would be given four seats in each National Assembly and Senate.
Naseem has forwarded the new recommendations to the PM to make Gilgit-Baltistan a provisional province, through making constitutional amendments. However, the minister has informed the premier that both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Security Advisor have strongly objected to amending Article-1 of the constitution.
Unlike the strong recommendations of Federal Minister of Kashmir Affairs and GB Ali Amin Gandapur and Chief Minister GB Muhammad Khalid Khurshid, the federal government has now decided to avoid amending the important article of the constitution, which defines territorial limits and federating units of the country, for, what officials say, the country’s obligations about Kashmir dispute.
As there would be no amendment in article 1 of the constitution, the explanations originally inserted in the article I have now been shifted into a new insertion numbered as article 258-A. The enabling provision, the proposed Article 258-A, which confers the provisional provincial status on GB, has further been amended.
The draft summary would now be submitted to the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly for approval.
He has suggested that a committee should be formed to amend the constitution from the National Assembly which can coordinate with all the parliamentary parties to get support for the required amendments in the constitution.
The recommendations sent to PM suggest allocating three general seats in the National Assembly and one reserved seat for a woman for GB. It is proposed to give the status of High Court to the present Chief Court of Gilgit-Baltistan and to appoint judges under Article 175A of the Constitution of Pakistan, while the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is recommended to be extended to GB.
According to the documents, it has been proposed not to change the number of members of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly in any way and to maintain the existing number of members. The formula laid down in the Gilgit-Baltistan Order 2018 for the quota of the federation and the province would also be maintained.
The law minister has also suggested GB Government present these recommendations in the provincial assembly and get consensus from all parties after which the same has to be submitted to the National Assembly for amendment and approval.
It is necessary to get a two-thirds majority to amend the Constitution of Pakistan. Therefore a committee comprising Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Defense Minister Pervez Khattak, Minister for Kashmir Affairs Ali Amin Gandapur, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan, Chairman Kashmir Committee Shehryar Afridi, Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan and Governor Gilgit-Baltistan should be given the responsibility to develop consensus among all political parties.
Naseem in his letter has also suggested that these recommendations be submitted to the Supreme Court of Pakistan through the Attorney General for approval as a case relating to reforms in GB is pending. In the letter, the Law Minister has claimed that amending Article 258A and making GB a provisional constitutional province will not affect the Kashmir issue.
According to an official source, PM Imran Khan has approved the draft summary after a meeting with chief minister GB and has now directed the government of GB to get it approved by the provincial assembly.