Gilgit-Baltistan’s Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs, and Health, Syed Sohail Abbas Shah, resigned from the cabinet on Friday by submitting his resignation to the governor. However, Governor Syed Mehdi Shah has yet to accept it.
Sohail Abbas was elected to the GB Assembly from the Gilgit-3 constituency in the 2020 general elections on a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) ticket. He served as the law minister during the PTI government led by former Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid Khan from 2020 to 2023. He was reappointed as GB Minister for Law, Health, and Parliamentary Affairs by the current Chief Minister, Haji Gulbar Khan, in July of last year.
In a statement, Sohail Abbas expressed his gratitude to his constituents, PTI founder Imran Khan, party leadership, and local PTI president Khurshid Khan, the former GB chief minister and assembly member. He said he had tried to serve the public as a minister and joined the PTI like-minded group for the region’s benefit. However, he had become disconnected from party leadership during the Chief Minister’s election.
Sohail Abbas stated that for the past 10 months, he had tried his best to work independently, but there were attempts to interfere in and dictate sensitive matters, which he could not accept. Despite challenges, he had not compromised on any issue related to Gilgit-Baltistan. He criticized the current government for making decisions “dictated from elsewhere” and accused them of nepotism and prejudice at the behest of the CM and a few ministers.
Sources indicated that differences between Sohail Abbas and Chief Minister Haji Gulbar Khan emerged when Abbas reestablished contacts with PTI and ex-CM Khalid. The CM asked Abbas to resign, but he initially refused. Recently, the chief minister initiated a summary to remove Sohail Abbas from his cabinet and sent it to the governor. To preempt this move, Sohail Abbas submitted his resignation to the governor, stating: “I hereby tender my resignation as Minister for Health, Law, and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of Gilgit-Baltistan.”
