GB would emerge as economic base camp of the country: Minister  

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz has said the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) would emerge as an economic base camp of the country due to its strategic location on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) route.

Addressing a news conference the minister said the federal government had doubled the development budget of GB and taken all possible measures for its uplift despite financial constraints caused by the novel COVID-19.

During the last two years, he said, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government never attempted to destabilize the governments in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and the GB as it fully believed in promoting democratic norms in the country.

The minister said all the governments, who came to the power with a public mandate, should be given an opportunity to complete tenures. The representatives of Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen, who announced to join the PTI for the upcoming election in GB, were also present at the press conference.

Shibli Faraz said that in the coming days GB will be the economic base camp of Pakistan as the region holds key importance in terms of economic prosperity.

The minister said, “PM Imran wants to bring the enlightened, moderate and progressive face of the GB before the world.” Protecting the rights of people from Gilgit-Baltistan is the top agenda of the PTI government, he added.