GB cabinet approves Rs220m for Skardu Cadet College, sets Dec 5 LG polls
The Gilgit-Baltistan cabinet met in Gilgit on Tuesday under Chief Minister Advocate Amjad Hussain and cleared a wide package of decisions, headlined by a Rs220 million grant for Skardu Cadet College. The cabinet also set December 5 as the date for the first phase of the region’s long-delayed local government elections.
A Rs220 million grant for Skardu Cadet College
The grant anchors a set of education measures approved at the meeting. The cabinet cleared the regularisation of teachers serving under the School Education Programme, Basic Education and the National Commission for Human Development.
Gilgit’s Nupoh Basin was declared a “hard area” for women teachers, a designation that usually carries incentives for postings in difficult stations. The cabinet also agreed to run 10 government schools in Shigar district with private-sector support. The decisions were reported by Dawn.
Compensation, land and a busy legislative slate
The cabinet approved Rs271.1 million in compensation for damage to government property during the incidents of March 1, 2026. It also cleared the transfer of ownership of alternative land to flood-affected residents of Tali Das in Ghizer district.
The amended Digital Media Policy 2025 won approval. The cabinet recommended that the GB Livestock Bill 2026 and the Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2026 be placed before the provincial assembly, and it backed a one-year extension of the law covering the regularisation of doctors.
On agriculture, funds were released to rehabilitate the Gini Das and Gureekot irrigation channels in Astore, and magisterial powers were delegated to assistant directors of the Mines and Minerals Department.
On administration, the cabinet set up the Diamer Development Authority and District and Divisional Development Review Committees, extended the Gilgit Development Authority’s jurisdiction to suburban areas, approved the GB Population Policy 2026-36, cleared amendments to the Local Council Delimitation 2026 and backed changes to the GB Revenue Authority Act 2026 to create an Advisory Council.
Local government elections: the two-phase roadmap
The region’s local government elections have been pending for years, and the cabinet meeting signalled a concrete roadmap to end the wait. District Returning Officers were appointed on Monday for the municipal corporations of Chilas, Skardu and Gilgit town, with polling set for December 5.
GB Chief Election Commissioner Raja Shahbaz Khan named Gilgit DC (retired Captain) Arif Ahmed as DRO for Gilgit, Skardu DC Hamza Murad as DRO for Skardu, and Diamer DC (retired Lt) Muhammad Owais as DRO for Chilas.
The polls run on a four-tier system: district councils, union councils and village committees in rural areas, and municipal bodies in urban areas. The first phase on December 5 covers the three municipal corporations. The second phase, due in April next year, will cover the remaining seven districts. Ward delimitation is already under way.
The GB schedule follows a wider push for local polls elsewhere, including the ECP’s October 2026 schedule for Islamabad’s local government elections.
FAQs
What did the GB cabinet approve for Skardu Cadet College?
A grant of Rs220 million for the college, as part of a wider education package that also regularised teachers, declared Gilgit’s Nupoh Basin a hard area for women teachers and brought 10 Shigar schools under private-sector operation.
When are the Gilgit-Baltistan local government elections?
The first phase is set for December 5 in the municipal corporations of Gilgit, Skardu and Chilas. The second phase, covering the remaining seven districts, is due in April next year, following the pattern of recent local poll schedules.
Who will run the first phase of the LG polls?
GB Chief Election Commissioner Raja Shahbaz Khan appointed (retired Captain) Arif Ahmed as DRO for Gilgit, Hamza Murad as DRO for Skardu and (retired Lt) Muhammad Owais as DRO for Chilas.
What else did the GB cabinet decide?
It approved Rs271.1 million in compensation for March 2026 property damage, land for flood-hit Tali Das residents, the Digital Media Policy 2025, two bills for the assembly, irrigation funds for Astore and new development authorities.
