PTI's Muhammad Khalid Khurshid Khan elected Pak-occupied Gilgit Baltistan's CM amid protests against 'rigged' election

Gilgit-Baltistan [PoK], December 1 (ANI): Amid the ongoing protests against the "rigged" elections in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan, the Assembly of the region on Tuesday elected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) Muhammad Khalid Khurshid Khan as the new Chief Minister.
Speaker Amjad Hussain Zaidi chaired the Assembly session held to elect the chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, Dawn reported.
Khan, who was fielded by the PTI-Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen alliance, secured 22 votes, while Amjad Hussain, who was the candidate of the opposition parties JUI-F, PPP and PML-N, got nine votes.
After the CM election, the speaker announced that the opposition parties submitted requisition and that Hussain was elected the Opposition leader in the occupied Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly.
Pakistan Peoples Party's Amjad Hussain, who was elected the Opposition leader, congratulated all members of the G-B Assembly. He said the ruling PTI and Opposition PPP got equal votes, yet the PTI was allowed to form the government under a plan.
He added there was a question mark on the system how with equal votes, the PTI got nine seats and PPP got four seats. "Religious parties helped the PTI get nine seats. It was political engineering through which the PTI formed the government in Gilgit-Baltistan," he said.
The Opposition added he would continue to resist against every anti-people move of the government. He reiterated that the G-B elections were rigged as the Centre committed every possible rigging to defeat the PPP in the region.
Meanwhile, people in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan continued to hold violent protests across the region against Prime Minister Imran Khan-led government over the rigged Assembly elections.
The protesters burnt tyres and blocked roads to show their anger and frustration.
Khan's party PTI won a majority of the 23 Assembly seats in the elections held last month.
The Opposition accused the government of misusing power.
Following this, hundreds of people joined the demonstrations on a protest call made by the political parties. They say they will not move until justice is delivered to them.
The elections were held amidst relentless protest by the people of Gilgit-Baltistan against the Pakistan government's "illegal occupation" in the region.
India has slammed Pakistan for its decision to hold elections in Gilgit-Baltistan and said any action to alter the status of the militarily-occupied region has no legal basis. (ANI)