Election night in newsroom

Whenever elections are held, our newsroom has a long day and a long night. The reason is simple that election results trickle in slowly, one by one, constituency by constituency. The same happened when the elections for Gilgit-Baltistan were held. We sat glued to our screens, tea going cold, phones buzzing, voices rising every time a new result flashed across the wire.

I remember the moment the first results started coming in. There was excitement in the air. Everyone had a prediction. Some of my colleagues had bet on the independents doing well. Others felt Pakistan Muslim League-N would dominate. But as the night passed by, one party kept climbing: the Pakistan Peoples Party.

By the time we had results from 21 out of 24 constituencies, the picture was becoming very clear. PPP had won 9 seats. That is not just a victory, that is a statement.

I watched the results pour in from across this stunning, mountainous region. From Gilgit to Skardu, from Ghanche to Ghizer, PPP candidates were winning. In GBA-1 Gilgit, Amjad Hussain came out on top. In GBA-4 Nagar, Mohammad Ali Akhtar secured his win with over 7,600 votes. In GBA-19 Ghizer, Syed Jalal Shah won comfortably. Seat after seat, the green flag of PPP was flying high.

PML-N was not far behind in the fight, finishing with 4 seats. They won in Gilgit-2, Diamer-4, Ghanche-1, and Ghizer-2. But they could not match PPP’s overall performance. Independent candidates also made a strong showing, winning 7 seats across various constituencies. Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen picked up one seat in Skardu.

Then came the moment that made our whole newsroom smile. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while meeting President Asif Ali Zardari at the Aiwan-e-Sadr to discuss the federal budget deadlock, congratulated the President on PPP’s victory. With a smile, the PM said that young Bilawal had run a better election campaign than his own party. President Zardari, never one to miss a moment, smiled back and said — “After all, whose son is he?” The room apparently burst into laughter. Even in the middle of serious budget negotiations, that exchange lit up the evening.

Now, according to sources, a coalition government between PPP and PML-N is likely to be formed in Gilgit-Baltistan, similar to the PDM-style alliance we have seen at the federal level. Under the proposed arrangement, the Chief Minister will be from PPP, while the Governor’s slot will go to PML-N. Ministries are expected to be divided on a 60-40 formula, reflecting each party’s seat count.

It is a practical arrangement. Gilgit-Baltistan is not just any region. It is a breathtakingly beautiful but deeply sensitive area, bordering China, Afghanistan, and the disputed Kashmir region. Stable governance here is not just a political matter — it is a national security priority. A coalition that brings the two largest parties together could provide the stability this region genuinely needs.

As I finally stepped out of the newsroom that night, exhausted but satisfied, I thought about what these results mean for ordinary people in Gilgit-Baltistan. They went out and voted. They chose. Now it is the responsibility of the winning parties to deliver — on roads, healthcare, education, and economic opportunity for a region that deserves so much more attention than it usually receives.

Elections are long nights for journalists. But they are important nights for democracy. And on this night, the mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan spoke clearly.