PML-N chief addresses gathering during one-day visit, promises to take region’s road, power, aviation issues to PM
PML-N President Nawaz Sharif addresses a public gathering in Gilgit-Baltistan on June 2, 2026. SCREENGRAB
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday vowed to pursue major infrastructure, aviation and energy projects in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), saying he would take the region’s concerns directly to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and push for long-awaited development initiatives.
Addressing a public gathering in GB, the former prime minister said he would seek federal action to improve road infrastructure, expand Gilgit Airport and address chronic electricity shortages in the region.
The PML-N chief highlighted infrastructural deficits in the region when he arrived in GB: “The condition of the roads caused me great pain and sadness,” adding that he saw so many potholes and told people three or four times that seeing the roads made him very sad.
“Once these roads were built with enthusiasm,” he said, adding that during his tenure, “they started the road from Mansehra and it was completed very well up to Thakot.” But he asked why it was not completed up to Gilgit and why it was not continued beyond Gilgit to Chilas.
“I don’t want to speak against any party. I don’t want to criticize any government, but my heart compels me to ask: you had the opportunity to rule this country, so why did you neglect this region so much?” Nawaz said. He added that it saddens him to see the current state of affairs in GB. “Why was it not taken into account? What was the reason? Your attention was focused elsewhere,” he said.
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Further discussing the road project, Nawaz noted that during his tenure, the road was extended to Skardu at a cost of nearly Rs 50 billion. “This is the people of Gilgit’s court, this is not a favor from me,” he said.
“My heart cries. Why was all this allowed to happen? Why was the money that should have been spent on you not spent on you? Where was that money spent?” Nawaz asked, noting that if hospitals were built in the region, it was the PML-N that had built them, and applied the same to power plants and hydroelectric projects, along with the Jaglot-Skardu project, which he stated was initiated and completed by his party.
“Tell me the name of any other party who has even laid the foundation stone of a project here or started the construction of a road here,” Nawaz said. Referring to a four-lane highway from Islamabad to Mansehra, which he said should have been extended all the way to GB, the former prime minister stated that he regretted to say that even the airport remains exactly as it was during his tenure. “It is neither expanded nor upgraded, the flights are still the same,” Nawaz stated, adding that the airport should have been expanded so that jets could land there, just like they do in Skardu.
“If it still hasn’t happened, then it causes me great regret and I express my sorrow to you from the bottom of my heart,” he said. Nawaz added that he had flown to the region on a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight, questioning how many flights ply in the region in a week, saying it should be 30.
The PML-N chief assured the gathering that he would meet Prime Minister Shehbaz and ask him to expand the airport and create capacity for jets to land and take off from the region. Nawaz said the travel time from Gilgit to Skardu had been cut to three hours from nine, and said the party had saved the people of Gilgit six hours of travel time. “How many opportunities have we created for you and your children? Fulfilling this was one of our fervent hopes,” he said.
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Discussing the Lowari Tunnel in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) connecting Dir and Chitral, Nawaz said the project had remained unfinished for 30 to 40 years before it was completed during his tenure. “But here, projects are started and then never seem to be finished,” he added, noting that the power projects in the region remain a particular source of concern for him due to lack of electricity despite abundant water resources.
Expressing gratitude to his brother, the PML-N chief said, “I appreciate Shehbaz Sharif who has allocated 100 megawatts for solar energy here,” but noted that he would tell the prime minister that “20 to 22 hours of load shedding in winter is not acceptable, and neither is 10 to 12 hours of load shedding in summer.”
“Others may find it acceptable, but I don’t,” Nawaz said, assuring the gathering that he would speak to Prime Minister Shehbaz as soon as he returns to Pakistan. “Whether the solution is found or not, only God knows, but we will not deprive you of these things,” he said.
He concluded his address by saying that he would continue to come to GB “every two or three months” so that the projects in question can be launched. “I would like to see them completed under my own supervision and supervision,” added the former prime minister.
Nawaz arrived in GB on a one-day visit amid ongoing campaigning for the upcoming June 7 elections. On his arrival, he was received by Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Amir Muqam, former GB Chief Minister Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman, Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar, along with other party leaders.
Federal ministers including Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanaullah, along with Senator Pervaiz Rashid, Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Senator Anusha Rahman and Kazim Pirzada are accompanying Nawaz during his visit.
While in GB, the PML-N president will hold meetings with party leaders and party ticket holders contesting the elections.
A day ago, the Election Commission issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) confirming Nawaz to visit GB to launch his election campaign. The polls, due to take place on June 7, have spurred major political parties to make a final push to mobilize voters across the region before campaigning officially ends later this week.
Claims by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf that the party had been barred from campaigning, however, heightened the political temperature in the region.
In the notification issued by the Election Commission Secretariat of GB, the Chief Election Commissioner of GB authorized Nawaz’s visit on Tuesday “for participation in election-related activities.”
It added that the NOC was subject to strict compliance with the Electoral Act, 2017, applicable electoral laws and regulations and the Code of Conduct for General Elections 2026. “Any breach thereof will attract legal consequences under the relevant electoral laws and may result in appropriate proceedings against the candidate(s) concerned and other persons responsible for such breach,” it said.
