LAHORE/GILGIT: PML-N President Nawaz Sharif is set to visit Gilgit-Baltistan on Tuesday, June 2, in what party leaders are framing as a final push before the region goes to the polls on June 7.
The visit comes after the Election Commission of Gilgit-Baltistan issued a no-objection certificate allowing the former prime minister to take part in election-related activities. The approval, according to local reports, requires him to follow the election code of conduct and relevant legal restrictions during the campaign.
Punjab Senior Minister and PML-N leader Marriyum Aurangzeb said Nawaz would undertake a one-day visit, meet party leaders and ticket-holders, and review both the electoral situation and development-related matters in the region. For PML-N, the timing is hard to miss. With polling just days away, the party is clearly looking to turn Nawaz’s presence into momentum on the ground.
The GB Legislative Assembly elections are scheduled for June 7, after an earlier delay linked to harsh winter conditions in the mountainous region. The previous assembly completed its five-year term in late November 2025, after which a caretaker setup was installed.
Nawaz has already tried to put development at the centre of PML-N’s pitch. In April, while addressing the party’s parliamentary board for GB, he said the party would focus on roads, tourism, public services and broader economic opportunities if it wins the election. He also said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif shared his “passion” for developing the region, which PML-N sees as an underused economic and tourism hub.
But this is not a quiet election season. Allegations of pre-poll rigging, administrative pressure and campaign restrictions have already sharpened the political atmosphere in Gilgit-Baltistan. PTI has accused authorities of creating hurdles for its candidates and supporters, while officials have linked some enforcement actions to election rules and code-of-conduct requirements.
Security arrangements have also drawn attention. Punjab has approved the deployment of 6,000 police personnel in Gilgit-Baltistan ahead of the vote, a move reported as part of election security preparations but one that opposition voices are likely to watch closely given the already tense environment.
PML-N, meanwhile, has been preparing for the contest for weeks. Its central leadership, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Nawaz Sharif, Ishaq Dar, Ahsan Iqbal, Khawaja Asif and Maryam Nawaz, earlier met in Islamabad to finalise party tickets for GB constituencies. That high-level involvement shows how seriously the party is treating a regional contest that often carries symbolic weight far beyond its assembly seats.
For Nawaz, the visit is also political theatre in the old style: show up, rally workers, reassure candidates and remind voters of past development claims. Whether that cuts through local grievances is another question. Gilgit-Baltistan politics is shaped not only by national party loyalties, but also by constituency-level alliances, development promises, identity questions and long-running demands for greater rights.
The June 7 polls will test whether PML-N can convert its federal position and development message into seats in GB — or whether opposition anger over alleged restrictions becomes the bigger election story.
