ISLAMABAD: A member of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Khalid Khurshid, was elected chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan for a five-year term on Monday.
PTI, the party of Prime Minister Imran Khan, bagged the most seats in last month’s legislative assembly election in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region.
The GB assembly has 33 seats, 24 of which are contested through directed elections, six are reserved for women and three are reserved for technocrats and professionals.
Parties had campaigned for week for the November 15 polls, with candidates promising to build infrastructure projects and end decades of neglect in a region that has never officially been part of Pakistan, but forms part of the portion of disputed Kashmir that Pakistan controls. Both Delhi and Islamabad have claimed all of Kashmir since gaining independence 73 years ago, and have fought two wars over the territory.
“I’m very thankful to the people of Gilgit Baltistan as they elected me their next CM [chief minister,” Khalid Khurshid said in a tweet.
Khurshid, who has a law degree from England and comes from a well-known political family from Astore district, was elected a member of the Gilgit-Baltistan legislative assembly from the GBLA-13 (Astore-1) constituency.
Opposition parties have cried foul over the election results, saying they were rigged by the ruling PTI party, which is in government in the center. The government has denied this.
According to data from the Gilgit-Baltistan election commission, 745,361 people had registered to vote in the election, of which 339,992 were women. Nearly 1,234 polling stations were set up in 24 constituencies.
PM Khan’s nominee elected chief minister of Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region
https://arab.news/j9a9c
PM Khan’s nominee elected chief minister of Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region
- Khan’s PTI party bagged the most seats in last month’s legislative assembly election in the northern area
- Khalid Khurshid has a law degree from England, belongs to a well-known political family from Astore district
Pakistan stock market sees 41% rise in investors in 18 months
- Pakistan’s stock market has gained momentum at start of year on broad-based institutional buying
- The rise in the stock market reflects global investors’ confidence in the country, state media says
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange has witnessed a 41% increase in the number of investors over the past 18 months, Pakistani state broadcaster reported on Friday.
Pakistani stock market has gained momentum in recent months as broad-based institutional buying across key sectors has reinforced investor confidence even as the country continues to navigate economic reforms under international lending programs.
Around 135,000 new investors have joined the PSX over the last 18 months, the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“Pakistan’s stock market has emerged as the second-best performing market globally,” the report said. “The rise in the stock market reflects global investors’ confidence in Pakistan’s improved investment environment.”
The development came as the PSX shed a little more than 1,000 points as it closed the weekend session at 184,519 points.
The report said coordinated efforts by Pakistan’s Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) have helped stabilize the country’s economy and investment market, elevating it to prominence at the global level.
“Pakistan’s macroeconomic environment has become an attractive and reliable destination for investment,” it quoted Finance Adviser Khurram Schehzad as saying.
On Wednesday, Pakistani stocks climbed to a fresh all-time high with the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossing the 186,000-point mark for the first time as potential foreign inflows upheld the positive sentiment.
