'My heart cries': Nawaz laments lack of development in GB ahead of polls
Why this matters: local context for readers following news across Pakistan and the region.
Former prime minister and PML-N President Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday lamented the lack of development in Gilgit-Baltistan, as he made a brief visit to the region ahead of elections there. General elections in GB are scheduled for June 7, after a four-month delay attributed to harsh winter weather. “I am speaking to you after many years. Isn’t that the case? Perhaps you have forgotten me,” Nawaz said while addressing the public in Gilgit, prompting roaring chants in his support. Noting that he was fond of mountains, Nawaz stressed he “wholeheartedly loved” GB. “When I love the area from my heart, then why would I not love the people from my heart? You live in my heart,” he quipped. The PML-N chief then went on to lament the lack of development in GB. “When I saw the condition of the roads after exiting the airport, I cannot even describe it. It hurt me immensely. Where is the Gilgit that I used to know?” he said. “My heart cries on why this was allowed, why the money that should have been spent on you all was not done so,” Nawaz remarked. Noting there were “so many potholes”, Nawaz recalled that the PML-N had in the past worked on constructing roads and asked why the project was not extended to Gilgit as originally planned. “I do not want to speak against any party or government, but my heart urges me to ask them that you got the chance to serve this country, then why did you ignore this area?” the ex-premier asked. He added that the PML-N did not seek votes by criticising other parties, but rather based on the work it did. “The road that I had started was not built upto here, it should have been and then built further till Khunjerab,” he said, highlighting that the cost of building the road till Skardu had cost Rs50 billion. “It is the right of people of GB, not a favour that I am doing to you,” he added. Nawaz is also set to meet with party ticket holders contesting the polls. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Inter-Provincial Coordination