Federal Minister for Law and Justice Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar has said that the consultation process on the constitutional and legal matters of Gilgit-Baltistan is underway. He said broad consultations would be held on the future administrative and constitutional arrangement, and all relevant stakeholders would be taken on board. The Law Minister has also invited the Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition of Gilgit-Baltistan to the next meeting.
The meeting of the GB Issues Working Group was held on Friday under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Law and Justice here in the Ministry of Law and Justice. Officials from Gilgit-Baltistan, the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, and the Gilgit-Baltistan Council participated in the meeting.
The meeting held a detailed discussion on the constitutional, legal, financial and administrative matters of Gilgit-Baltistan. Participants reviewed various options and previous reports concerning constitutional and legal matters, while different proposals and models for the financial resources of Gilgit-Baltistan were also reviewed.
The meeting also reviewed possibilities for practical reforms within the existing governance framework of Gilgit-Baltistan.
The Federal Minister for Law said that the constitutional matters of Gilgit-Baltistan would be considered comprehensively and in detail, and the consultation process would continue. He said the financial, administrative and constitutional matters of Gilgit-Baltistan would be considered in an integrated manner.
Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar directed the Working Group to formulate practical and workable proposals for resolving the issues of Gilgit-Baltistan. He said an interim report should be prepared after comprehensive deliberation and presented, along with recommendations, before the main committee.
The Federal Minister said that more time would be required for an agreed constitutional and legal solution. He said broad consultations would be held on the future administrative and constitutional arrangement of Gilgit-Baltistan and all relevant stakeholders would be taken on board.
He said national consensus on the constitutional matters of Gilgit-Baltistan was essential and that the views of all relevant parties should be duly considered. He further said that the Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition of Gilgit-Baltistan had been invited to participate in the next meeting so that their views could also be incorporated into the consultation process.
Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar said that protection of the rights of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan and ensuring their sense of equality remained a top priority.
