New constitutional scheme for GB on the anvil

The federal government of Pakistan is currently consulting stakeholders on a constitutional arrangement for Gilgit-Baltistan with Islamabad. Simultaneously, the region's parliament will present its deficit budget for fiscal year 2026-27 on Monday. Chief Minister Advocate Amjad Hussain disclosed that a high-level committee, established by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, is striving to reach a consensus on the constitutional arrangement through an amendment.

The committee, chaired by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, is expected to convene in Islamabad on September 25 or 26 to deliberate on political and administrative reforms in Gilgit-Baltistan. The committee comprises Gilgit-Baltistan's chief minister, the Leader of the Opposition, Federal Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Minister Amir Muqam, the Attorney General of Pakistan, and representatives from the ministries of foreign affairs, law and justice, and inter-provincial coordination.

The committee aims to draft a constitutional amendment bill without impacting the Kashmir dispute with India. It has been tasked with submitting its recommendations to the prime minister within a month. The GB government has already approved the proposal, and the region's parliament recently endorsed it. Negotiations are ongoing with the federal government to address the region's financial shortfall, with the GB government requesting a share in the National Finance Commission (NFC) award, similar to the one previously granted to Azad Jammu and Kashmir.