The Balawaristan National Front ( ur, , translit=Balāwaristān Naishanal Franṭ BNF), more commonly known as the BNF, is a Pakistani political party of

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory, and constituting the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region which has been the subject of a dispute bet ...

. It was founded by

Nawaz Khan Naji Nawaz Khan Naji is a Pakistani politician who is member-elect of the Gilgit Baltistan Assembly. First nationalist leader to be part of GB assembly consecutively, three times (2012–16, 2016–20, 2020–24). He was born in a village, Sherqilla, ...

in 1989. The party calls for Gilgit-Baltistan to be given autonomy while still remaining a part of the federation of Pakistan. The party is led by

and has been represented in the

Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly The Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly (GBA), formerly known as Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly (GBLA), is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of Autonomous territory (de-facto Pakistani province) of Gilgit-Baltistan, which is locat ...

by a single member, the aforementioned Nawaz Khan Naji, since 2011. The party has high amounts of support in Ghizer District, where the founder of BNF Naji is from, and from smaller isolated pockets throughout the rest of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Ideology

Gilgit-Baltistan autonomy

The main struggle of BNF is the autonomy for Gilgit-Baltistan. It calls for autonomy for Gilgit-Baltistan while being a part of Pakistan. It believes that Gilgit-Baltistan is a disputed territory. The BNF believes that Gilgit-Baltistan is a distinct entity and is separate from the rest of the

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

region. It also believes that the rulings of the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate a ...

should not be effective in Gilgit-Baltistan on account of it being disputed. The main aim of the BNF is to make Gilgit-Baltistan a self-governing, autonomous, constitutionally-recognized region within Pakistan, similar to ''Azad Kashmir'', until the Kashmir Plebiscite.

Economics

The BNF has expressed support for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Anti-taxation

The BNF believes that Gilgit-Baltistan should be considered a "tax-free zone" and that the

Federal Board of Revenue The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) ( ur, ), formerly known as Central Board of Revenue (CBR), is a federal law enforcement agency of Pakistan that investigates tax crimes, suspicious accumulation of wealth, money-laundering make regulation of ...

has no right to collect taxes from Gilgit-Baltistan, because Gilgit-Baltistan is currently a disputed territory.

Self-determination

While the BNF at its core wishes for the independence of Gilgit-Baltistan, the BNF also believes in

self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...

, and believes that the final say of Gilgit-Baltistan's status belongs with the people of Gilgit-Baltistan.

History

The Balawaristan National Front was formed by

Abdul Hamid Khan (politician) Abdul Hamid Khan is the chairman of the Balawaristan National Front (Hameed group) (BNF-H), a sub-nationalist organisation. He founded the Balawaristan National Front Hameed Group (BNF-H), which sought autonomy for Gilgit-Baltistan and opposed the ...

and

, but has broken into two parties since then, the BNF(H) and BNF(N). This was because Abdul Hamid Khan had far more extreme views and was much more strongly nationalist than Naji, who restricted his demands to autonomy. The BNF(H) was banned by the government of Pakistan.

Electoral history

In 2011, the BNF fielded Nawaz Khan Naji, in Constituency GBA-19 (Ghizer-I) in order to win the by-poll that was occurring there. He won with 8,299 votes, and over 3,000 more votes than his closest competitor, Karim Ahmed Shah of the PML(N). After his victory, Naji was reported as having said "We have contested elections in the past but it is our first win in the legislative assembly". Upon taking the oath of office on June 6, 2011, Naji promised to remain faithful to the state of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, and reaffirmed his belief that while his party wished to see Gilgit-Baltistan be a separate state, the final status of Gilgit-Baltistan had to be decided by the people of Gilgit-Baltistan rather than just one person or party. Although he was the only nationalist member of the

, he was welcomed in and was given support by other members after he took his oath. One member of the assembly,

Independent politician An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

Deedar Ali, said (while talking about Naji): "If others try to sideline a member in the assembly, we will support him". Naji once again ran in the 2015 Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly election to represent his constituency, GBA-19 (Ghizer-I), this time as an

, and won the contest with 5,259 votes (26.99% of the vote), narrowly edging out the PML(N)'s candidate, Shakeel Ahmed. After winning the election, he switched his official party allegiance to "Balawaristan National Front". The BNF did not officially field any candidates once again in the

2020 Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly election The 2020 Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly elections were held on 15 November 2020. Elections will be held in 24 constituencies, each electing one member to the 3rd Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly. 330 candidates will contest these elections, eithe ...

, but Naji once again ran to represent his constituency, GBA-19 (Ghizer-I), in 2020
Preliminary and unofficial results
have shown Naji is the winner in this constituency once again, winning 6,208 votes, over 1,000 more votes than his closest competitor, Pir Jalal Ali Shah of the

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...

, who received 4,967 votes. He still claims himself as the leader of the BNF(N) on all social media websites, though, and certain news outlets have reported this as a victory for the BNF(N), even though he officially has run as an independent candidate.

Leaders

References

External links

{{Authority control Political parties in Pakistan 1989 establishments in Pakistan History of Gilgit-Baltistan Politics of Gilgit-Baltistan Nationalist parties in Pakistan