LAHORE:
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has expelled Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Gulbar Khan along with 11 lawmakers, accusing them of forming a forward bloc and voting against party policy in the regional assembly.
Termination notices, dated Sept 5, declared the expulsions effective immediately. The letters cited “clear violations of party policy” that had harmed PTI’s interests and reputation.
Those stripped of membership include Chief Minister Gulbar Khan, Abdul Hameed, Haji Shah Baig, Mushtaq Ahmad, Syed Amjad Ali Zaidi, Shamsul Haq Lone, Dilshad Bano, Raja Nasir Ali Khan Maqpoon, Surayya Zaman, Raja Azam Khan Amacha, and Raja Fazal Rahim.
The party also barred them from using PTI’s name, flag or platform in any capacity, warning of legal action in case of violations.
In a parallel move, PTI issued a show-cause notice to former Gilgit-Baltistan governor Raja Jalal Hussain Maqpoon, alleging he conspired against the party and encouraged defections. He has been asked to respond in writing within two days.
The expulsions mark the latest chapter in PTI’s widening internal rift in the mountainous region. Gulbar Khan, previously PTI’s health minister, became chief minister in July 2023 after Khalid Khurshid Khan was disqualified by the G-B Chief Court for allegedly holding a fake law degree.
Khurshid’s disqualification opened the floodgates as several PTI lawmakers broke ranks, paving the way for a coalition government stitched together by the PTI’s defectors, alongside the PML-N and PPP. Gulbar emerged as the consensus choice for chief minister.
Even before his election, reports suggested that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, after huddling with PPP leaders, had quietly put Gulbar’s name forward for the prized slot.
However, the PTI cried foul. Its Central Media Department denounced the development as nothing less than the “robbery of public mandate in Gilgit-Baltistan in broad daylight”.
In the aftermath, the party served show-cause notices to 11 members who had cast their lot with Gulbar. Among them were Gulbar Khan himself, Amjad Zaidi, Shams Lone, Abdul Hameed, Dilshad Bano, Haji Shah Baig, Surayya Zaman and Raja Fazal Rahim, all of whom received termination letters on Thursday, marking a decisive break with the party.
